MisterDrBob Presents: The Avengers
by MisterDrBob
Summary: And there came a day, a day unlike any other, when Earth's mightiest heroes found themselves united against a common threat. On that day, the Avengers were born.
1. Marvels

**MisterDrBob presents: The Avengers**

Summary: And there came a day, a day unlike any other, when Earth's mightiest heroes found themselves united against a common threat. On that day, the Avengers were born — to fight foes no single hero could withstand! Through the years, their roster has prospered, changing many times, but their glory has never been denied! Heed the call, then — for now, Avengers Assemble!

Disclaimer: All characters belong to Marvel and Disney

Continuity note: This chapter takes place just a month before the first chapter of my Spider-Man story.

Chapter 1: Marvels

_Long ago, a race of beings from a plane above our own descended onto the Earth. They were called the Asgardians, and they were worshipped as gods by the vikings of Norway and other parts of Northern Europe._

_The King of the Asgardians was one called Odin. He was a wise and just ruler, and Asgard prospered under him. Odin had many sons, but his favorite was Thor. Thor was Odin's choice to rule Asgard when he was gone, though Thor often displayed arrogant and hot-headed behavior. So Odin devised a test for his brash son._

_As a boy, Thor was the constant playmate of his half-brother Loki (the son of a frost-giant who had been adopted by Odin) and Sif, sister of Heimdall, the guardian of the Bifrost bridge. Loki grew jealous of Thor in nearly every aspect of his life, and so took to playing cruel pranks, earning him the name God of Mischief. One of the cruelest of these pranks was the shearing of Sif's golden hair. As punishment, Loki was forced to go to the dwarves known as the Sons of Ivaldi to get a new head of black hair for Sif. The Sons of Ivaldi also presented Loki with magnificent gifts for the gods. The greatest of these was a mighty war hammer for Odin, dubbed Mjollnir. Forged from uru, the hammer had several magical properties in it. It was so heavy that only the worthy could lift it, it would return to its owner when thrown, and could summon the elements of the storm. Odin decided that this hammer would be a symbol of his kingship, and devised a series of tests for Thor. Each time Thor completed one of these heroic tasks, he found he could lift Mjollnir a little higher. And as Thor's mastery of Mjollnir grew, so did Loki's envy..._

_Soon, Loki's pranks became more and more dangerous and vile, earning him a new name: God of Evil. Thor tolerated Loki, but the two were steadily becoming rivals of a different sort. Loki knew how to please Odin, and often made Thor look unfit to rule. One horrible day, Loki's mischief was carried too far. By now, Thor had claimed Mjollnir as his own, although he was not yet ready to be king. Loki, hoping to strip Mjollnir from Thor, convinced him to lead a raid with his friends the Warriors Three into a Frost Giant encampment in Jotunheim, their home. This was a grave error, as a truce had recently been called between the Aesir and the Frost Giants. When Odin found out, he was furious. He banished Thor to Midgard, the realm of men. After him, he threw Mjollnir down to earth, where it lay waiting for Thor to become worthy once more._

The man staggered away from the smoldering crater, seething with rage. Cast out. Cast out from his home. With resentment, he realized he was still not walking properly even though the clouds had cleared from his head. He looked down at his body. The muscles he'd been so proud of were gone, leaving a skinny frame, and a damaged leg. Mjollnir still sat in the crater, of no use to anyone. This above all made Thor angriest. He let out a primal roar of rage. He half hoped someone would respond. Heimdall, Odin himself, he'd even be glad to see Loki right now. But each of these was less likely than the last.

Thor surveyed his surroundings. He'd landed in the middle of a field. It looked as though the mortals grew crops there usually, but it was winter on Midgard. Or at least this part; Thor had heard stories of Midgard and its changing seasons. Sometimes like Asgard, sometimes like Niflheim, and sometimes somewhere in between. The wind would have made any man's teeth chatter, but it did not bother Thor. He'd been in far colder in Niflheim and Jotunheim. He limped away from the field, towards a light. It had been a long time since he'd been to Midgard, but surely they would remember him?

The door was open, so Thor walked right in. A scream of surprise and fright greeted his ears.

"Fear not, mortals, I have come again!" Thor said. "The Mighty Thor asks your hospitality in his time of banishm-" Thor was interrupted as the elderly woman he'd walked in on beat him over the head with a book, and screamed for her husband. Thor snatched the woman's hand, ready to punish her insolence. Her husband took one look at what was going on and grabbed a strange long flute. Thor was perplexed, and so unprepared when he found that this flute did not play music, but played pain. He began feeling fuzzy again, and he looked to his shoulder where the pain was worst and saw a flow of blood pouring from it. As he tried to get to the man to retaliate, he lost consciousness.

* * *

><p><em>June 6, 1944, Normandy France, 6:27 am<em>

The boats had reached shallower waters of Omaha beach. At any second now, the invasion would commence.

"Ready, Cap?" Private James Buchanan "Bucky" Barnes of the 1st Infantry Division asked his commanding officer, Steve Rogers.

"Always ready, Bucky," Rogers answered. "This is it boys! Operation Overlord is underway. We get one shot at this, and we've been assigned the most heavily guarded beach. If we fail here..."

"Can the pep talk bub, we get it. Don't blow this," James 'Lucky Jim' Howlett, a troop in Rogers' platoon from the Canadian Armed Forces, grumbled.

"So then let's work 'em over," Rogers said as he adjusted his helmet. "Our air support should be arriving any minute." Finally, the drones of the planes were heard. Fire erupted, but it was coming nowhere near the still unseen boats.

Suddenly, the seas lurched and the boats were thrown toward the shore. Complete havok ensued as the soldiers tried to get their bearings and figure out exactly what had happened.

"What was that? The Nazis?" Bucky asked. Rogers' face was grim.

"No, that was someone else."

"Someone else?" Howlett asked. "I hope it's a buddy of yours."

"You could say that," Rogers said cryptically. "He's the reason the Atlantic Wall's down, and he's distracting the Nazis, so let's get ashore!" As the platoon emptied out of their boat and slogged to shore, they could see the waves still crashing around the beaches, sending the offensive forces into a frenzy.

"Fury!" Rogers called as they reached the cliff. "You got us covered?"

"Sure do Cap!" Sgt. Nick Fury shouted back. "Howling Commandos, let's kick some Nazi ass!" Fury's unit, the Howling Commandos converged near Bucky and Rogers, taking out opposition trying to stop them from climbing the cliff. Finally, they reached the top. Others were reaching the top too, but not many, meaning that Rogers and Bucky were some of the primary targets for the Nazi forces. Moving fast, Rogers reached behind his back and wielded a magnificent circular shield.

"Mein Gott! Captain America!" Rogers heard one of the Nazis scream. In an utterly theatrical moment, Rogers tore off his army uniform shirt revealing body armor. The armor was blue around the chest, with red and white stripes around the stomach, and in the center of the blue, a bold white star sat. It was a sight that many Nazis had been told horror stories about. And now, they would experience the stories of the Allies' own superman.

"Let's move Bucky!" Captain America shouted as he continued to deflect bullets. The bulk of what remained of the invasion force had made it up the cliff, giving Bucky and Cap slightly better odds of not getting shot at. Rogers hurled his shield at a Nazi soldier, striking him in the chest. The shield bounced off as if it were rubber and flew back towards Rogers' outstretched hand.

"Cap! There's a motorcycle over here!" Bucky shouted as he sprinted toward it.

"Good work partner!" Cap called. Bucky revved the bike's engine and peeled out in a tight circle, throwing mud in the faces of the surrounding Nazis. Rogers leaped into the air as Bucky barreled toward him, landing behind his young friend on the bike. Bucky turned around once more and made for the interior, with Cap's shield protecting them.

"Go get 'em Rogers!" Howlett roared in triumph as he tackled three men at once with animal-like ferocity. Cap turned around and gave a salute to the men who were still fighting.

"What now?" Bucky shouted over the roar of the engine.

"We clear the way!" Cap responded.

The newsreels would tell the stories of Captain America and Bucky fighting their way across France freeing oppressed villages, helping the Resistance, and raising hope that the war would soon end. But those stories are for another time. What would overshadow those tales of heroism was a greater struggle in the heart of Germany.

After days of riding, Cap and Bucky finally snuck across the border into Germany. They had come to Germany for one reason and one reason alone: to kill the Red Skull. Intelligence had been spotty at best, but finally Cap and Bucky had stumbled across a lead to where the Skull's base was. So they rode to the Bavaria region, keeping to the forests and hills where Nazi forces were spread thin.

"Jorgstock Castle," Bucky announced as said fortress came into view. "Sure looks like the kind of place a creep like the Red Skull would set up shop."

"Agreed," Cap nodded. "I'd bet my last dollar that that's also where he's basing HYDRA out of."

"Not Berlin?" Bucky asked perplexed.

"Not Berlin," Cap affirmed. "Berlin's the first place everyone would expect. It's right where Hitler is, after all."

"Right, so why not base HYDRA in Berlin?" Bucky asked.

"You don't want to put all your eggs in one basket Bucky," Cap simply said.

They had parked and hidden the motorcycle, and were now making their way on foot to the castle.

"See any guards?" Cap asked Bucky who was surveying the castle with binoculars.

"No. There's no one out there." Bucky reported.

"He's waiting for us," Cap said grimly. "Well, that defeats the purpose of stealth. Let's go."

They made their way carefully, ready for an ambush. But none came. Cap raised his shield as they crossed the open drawbridge and entered the castle.

"I know you are here Captain!" The wicked voice of the Skull shouted from somewhere in the castle. "You have come here to die!"

"Wrong Skull!" Cap shouted back. "It's you who'll be dying today!" Upon hearing this threat, a platoon of green-and-yellow-garbed HYDRA footmen revealed themselves, guns aimed at Cap and Bucky. The Skull stepped out in the middle of the circle the platoon had formed, facing his pair of enemies.

"I think not," the Skull said, an evil smirk lifting one of the corners of his mouth. "I have brought you here to witness the end of this war, after which, you will die." The Skull gestured with his hand, and instantly, the HYDRA troops fell into formation, two of them positioning themselves behind Cap and Bucky, herding them behind the Skull.

"What are you going on about, Skull?" Cap asked as they were pushed into a cavernous laboratory.

"Mein Captain, our friends in Egypt have discovered something that will turn the tide of the war," The Skull said proudly. A pair of HYDRA soldiers, and a regular Nazi officer moved to take a tarp off a large shape. "Technology from the future," The Skull said in a near whisper as the tarp came off.

"What's that supposed to be, your new coffin?" Bucky quipped.

"Silence, young fool! This machine is capable of transporting anyone to any spot on the face of this forsaken planet!" The Skull said, raising his voice. "Imagine Captain, enough of these machines to transport an army anywhere! This war is as good as ours! First we will retake France, then the rest of Europe shall fall before the Nazis, and then the world will know our power!" The Skull's speech ended as he began laughing evilly. It was a laugh that Cap and Bucky were still not accustomed to; otherworldly and full of malice.

"And just how do you propose to power something like that in a castle like this?" Cap asked. The Red Skull produced a tiny glass cube from a pocket with a flourish.

"More gifts from one who favors us," The Skull said cryptically. "Behold! The Cosmic Cube! Unlimited power in the palm of Germany's hands!"

"You crazy Kraut, there's no way that fancy die is going to power the coffin," Bucky scoffed. The Skull moved to backhand Bucky across the face, but thought better of it.

"Insert the Cube!" The Skull commanded a HYDRA lackey. The soldier gingerly placed the Cube in a slot on a nearby computer. The machine began humming, signaling activation. "Today, we conquer the world!"

"Not if I have anything to say about it!" Cap said, slamming one of the HYDRA soldiers with his shield as Bucky took two out with a scissor kick. The remaining three began shooting at the pair of adventurers, but the mighty shield deflected the bullets with ease.

Bucky somersaulted over Cap's head and pounded his fist into another one's face as Cap threw his shield at another soldier. The remaining two tried rushing Cap, but he took them both out with a single punch.

"Imbeciles!" The Skull shouted at his downed men. "You outnumber them three to one, and you are out in less than ten seconds? Bah!"

"Like I said, it's over, Skull," Captain America growled as he threw the shield again. The Red Skull jumped out of the way, narrowly missing the disk of death.

"I will be long gone from here Captain!" he shouted, pushing a button on a remote as he dashed for the machine. "I would advise you to use your last moments to pray to your God."

"No!" Bucky shouted as he dove for the Skull, toppling him over.

"You're not getting away today," Cap said, as he put a pair of cuffs on the Skull. "Good work, Bucky."

"You're too late," the Skull cackled. "This castle is set to blow in one minute. You'll never make it out in time!"

"I wouldn't bet on it Sk-hey!" Cap shouted as he found himself being shoved forward. "Bucky, what are you-?"

"He's right, Cap!" Bucky said as he pushed Captain America into the machine, which sealed instantly.

"No! No! Bucky! What are you doing?"

"Getting you out of here. They need you more than me!" Bucky said as he hit the button to activate the teleporter.

"Young interloper!" The Skull raged as he broke free of his cuffs and grabbed Bucky, strangling him before Captain America's eyes as the castle began falling apart. "You have only doomed yourself!"

"Bucky! BUCKY! NOOOOOOO!" Captain America shouted as the machine spirited him away.

* * *

><p>Patriotic marches, mostly by Sousa, accompanied the scenes described above. Finally, the camera fixed on a bronze statue in Washington D.C. of Captain America and Bucky as the Star Spangled Banner played. As it ended on a high note, the audience stood and cheered. Tony Stark smiled broadly as he took the stage at the Stark Industries Fourth of July Celebration; the kick-off of the annual Stark Expo.<p>

"Wasn't that something?" He asked the crowd. The crowd's cheering intensified. Somebody whistled as it died down. "Stark Industries has been serving America since 1939, playing a major role in the experiments that turned Steve Rogers into the hero Captain America, as well as providing crucial aid to the Manhattan Project. Today, we at Stark Industries continue that legacy by creating devices and tools to keep our great nation's young men and women safe overseas."

The screen behind Stark displayed a series of images, this time of the weapons soon to be deployed into the Middle Eastern theater courtesy of Stark Industries.

"These bad boys use our new repulsor technology. Clean, efficient, and cost effective. We're looking to start reverse-engineering older weaponry to use them within the next year or so. So rest easy folks, America's still the top dog when it comes to tech!" The crowd erupted into applause. Surfing on the moment, Tony flashed a peace sign as he left the stage.

"Nice work, man," Tony's best friend James "Rhodey" Rhodes congratulated him as he went backstage.

"Thanks. Any word from the general?"

"The date's been set. You leave a week from yesterday."

"I'll have Pepper book it," Tony said as he and Rhodey moved into the party.

"Uh-oh," Rhodey suddenly said under his breath.

"Uh-oh what?" Tony asked under his breath as well before he was answered.

"You put on a pretty good show, Stark, I'll have to give you that."

Tony's eyes narrowed, but he put on a big smile and said in his most politely cheerful voice

"Well hey, my two least favorite people in the world: Obie and _Justine_."

Obadiah Stane and Justin Hammer had been waiting near the stage for Tony to come back down and join his guests.

"Always a joker, huh, Tony?" Stane chuckled darkly.

Obadiah Stane had a long and complicated history with the Stark family. He'd been the best friend of Howard Stark, Tony's father, before Howard realized that he was embezzling from Stark Industries. Before he could do anything however, Obadiah left the company, destroyed all evidence of what he'd stolen, and started his own company Stane International. There had been bad blood between Stane and the Starks ever since.

Justin Hammer was a somewhat different story. He had no history with Howard Stark, he had simply lived his life upstaged by Tony. They had gone to the same boarding school, attended the same college, and were the favorites for valedictorian. Any opportunity to one-up Tony Stark was seized by Hammer, who invariably failed. Hammer tended to take this rivalry way more seriously than Tony, who had long since ignored these minor battles. There was talk that Hammer was thinking of making some key deals with New York business moguls Wilson Fisk and Norman Osborn, but Tony wasn't worried about either of them.

"So to what do I owe the displeasure?" Tony asked.

"Why does everything we do have to have an ulterior motive?" Stane asked.

"Because it's a law of the universe," Tony said, dropping the sarcasm. "You two are never up to any good when you show up at my events. So why don't you save us all a bunch of trouble and spill?"

Stane and Hammer just continued to glare at Tony.

"No? Well then if you'll excuse me gents, I have a party to attend to. Mr. Rhodes, please make sure my guests are comfortable, and grant them a swift exit if they show signs of any suspicious behavior."

"With pleasure Mr. Stark," Rhodey said, his distaste towards Stane and Hammer evident. This turned into a five-minute glaring match between the three. In the end, Rhodey won out.

"Let's get out of here," Stane muttered to Hammer.

"I hate them both so much!" Hammer seethed as they left the premises of the Expo.

"Hey, relax. I know someone who can take care of Mr. Tony Stark permanently," Stane said as an idea dawned on him. "Remember what we overheard? Stark's going to Afghanistan to show off some new weapon of his."

"Yeah, so?"

"So, we get our guy over there first and in position, and *bang* no more Stark..." Hammer grinned as he caught on.

"And I know just the guy to get him to your guy..."

* * *

><p><em>Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge<em>

"Traitor! Thief! ...Imbecile!"

"Calm down Elias!" Hank Pym protested against his partner's rage.

"You stole my work!" Elias Starr shouted as he looked for something to throw at Pym. "And used it to get that internship!"

"Okay, first off: it was _our_ work. I did just as much on the helmet as you did. Secondly: That's not what got me the internship!"

"Oh pardon me, I forgot. Your status as his daughter's boy toy helped too!"

"He didn't even know I was the same Hank!" Pym retorted. "He liked my theories about subatomic particles! That's all there is to it! I swear!"

"You swear," Starr mocked. "I swear we're done!" Hank frowned.

"Fine. If that's how you want to play it, we work alone from now on. Good luck trying to finish the helmet without me."

"I don't need luck!" Starr screamed, but Pym had already turned his back.

"Jeez, I could hear you down the hall," another young man said as he entered Starr's lab. "Sounds like Pym got you one up, Egghead."

"Shut it, Cannon! And I told you to never call me that!" Starr growled. Dave Cannon smirked. "I've come to collect my goods."

"Why am I not surprised?" Starr asked. "You'll get it alright, but you still owe me for the last two times."

"Hey man, I'm good for it!" Cannon protested. "I just need time!"

"Time's up," Starr said. "You can forget breaking into your next target, Cannon." Suddenly, Cannon was at Starr's side, his body whirling in a tornado-like fashion.

"Well how about you forget breathing?" He threatened. Starr stared in wonder.

"I never knew..."

"That I was a mutant? Hell no you didn't. Nobody knows, and now, that's how it's going to stay."

"Wait! I've got it!" Starr said suddenly as a stroke of brilliance hit him. "I've got the perfect way for you to keep your money, and still pay me back!"

* * *

><p>So alone...<p>

"Oh God, I'm so alone." Bruce Banner moaned as he collapsed from exhaustion on a roadside. The background swirled and shifted, but on the whole, he seemed to be in the countryside. Suddenly, light filled his sight, and he heard the sounds of choppers.

"No, no! NOOOOOOOOO!" Bruce cried out.

"Bruce, what's wrong?" Bruce found himself being shaken awake by his girlfriend Betty Ross.

"Betty? Wha- bad dream I guess," Bruce mumbled as he rubbed the sleep form his face.

"You're overworked Bruce. You need a break."

"Breaks are for grad students, Betty," Bruce said firmly, tapping away at his computer again. Betty sighed.

"My dad's rubbed off on you the wrong way."

"Yeah, well I can't afford to stop now," Bruce said pulling up an email from Otto Octavius. "I am _this_ close Betty. This close to solving the puzzle that is gamma radiation."

"You can't rush these things though," Betty protested. "Please Bruce, just a five minute break. For me?" Bruce looked over. Betty was giving him that look again.

"Oh alright. But just since you're so damn cute."

"And the trump card wins again," Betty giggled as she kissed Bruce's forehead. Bruce closed his eyes and took a deep breath. That dream was bugging him for some reason he couldn't explain. It was scaring him, and as much as he didn't want to admit it and couldn't explain it, it made him angry. He brushed his anger aside and took the promised break to drink some coffee and gratefully accept a packet of cookies Betty had brought.

"Octavius disagrees," Bruce mentioned in passing to Betty.

"About what?"

"Gamma radiation. Says its too dangerous. He's going to try tritium." Betty shrugged.

"More power to him. Less likely to blow up I'll agree, but come on. What could tritium do for medicine?"

"Not much," Bruce said as he set his mug down." But he thinks the other possible innovations are worth trying it."

"He could be right," Betty said as she started going over what Bruce had been working on. "But it's not our concern right now."

"Your concern is to make me a super-soldier Banner," The gruff voice of Betty's father, General Thaddeus "Thunderbolt" Ross said from the door.

"Dad! I didn't know you'd be dropping by today," Betty said as she looked up from the computer screen.

"If you did, you probably wouldn't be encouraging Banner to take breaks," Ross sneered.

"Dad, please. This is hard stuff. Bruce can't just go at it nonstop," Betty protested.

"You're making him softer than he already is," Ross said contemptuously.

"He's right here you know," Betty spat.

"Don't take that tone with me, Betty," Ross said. "If he were any real man, he'd speak for himself!"

"I have no reason or desire to argue with your opinion of me General," Bruce said as he got back to work. "To be quite honest, I think you're going to be sorely disappointed. The only successful super-soldier was a fluke."

"Then why the hell did you agree to do this?" Ross asked, clearly taken aback.

"Because I may just succeed in doing something else," Bruce said. "Come on, I would have received military funding anyway, so you may as well just cross your fingers, and be happy if I just cure cancer."

Ross's veins were bulging, but he maintained his temper.

"You had better be on to something big Banner," he threatened. "Or you'll be very sorry indeed."

Bruce kept this in mind as he continued working. He wasn't afraid of Ross, but he didn't want to let Betty down either. He had to be right about this, or everything would fall apart. So he kept going, hunting down every lead on new info, trying every experiment with gamma radiation that he could think of. Months of work and frustration later, Bruce had reason to believe he had nailed it.

"Good luck," Betty said as she kissed Bruce on the cheek.

"We don't need luck," Bruce smiled. "We've got it in the bag."

"You'd better," General Ross grumbled. "Although why you're testing it on yourself, I'll never know."

"Saves the hassle," Bruce shrugged. "If it works, we'll start administering to test subjects provided by you."

"I know that," Ross said impatiently. "Get on with it!"

Bruce climbed into a chair like machine. Humming with life, it tilted upwards at his command. Bruce kept his eyes on the monitors in front of his face, and at the aperture of the beaming device.

"Beginning initial gamma exposure," he announced. A green light shot from the machine, and made contact with Banner. "Still feeling healthy," Bruce said tongue-in-cheekly to Betty. "Increasing exposure."

As he did so however, Bruce began feeling ill. Betty could tell apparently, as she was screaming for the operators to shut off the gamma radiation. Her father was holding her back to stop her from rushing in to help Bruce. Bruce collapsed to the ground, heart pounding. He'd killed himself, he knew it. He had known the risks, but he was sure that the exposure would be low enough to merely jump-start his cell's self-healing capabilities. The throbbing spread to the rest of his body. His fear became coupled with another emotion: Anger.

"What the devil-?" Ross asked, astounded at what he was seeing. Banner's body was expanding slowly. It looked quite painful, and Banner's screams of pain confirmed this suspicion. His skin was also turning a sickening grayish-green. Betty stopped struggling and watched in horror as her Bruce became nearly unrecognizable. What stood in his place was a monster of towering rage. It let out an angry bellow, and suddenly, Betty Ross's world went black.

* * *

><p>Author's Notes: Finally, here's the first chapter of the Avengers! The focus of this story is actually more on the individual members, although it's not like the team's exploits are going to be uncommon. I just mean that each member will continue having their own solo adventures. Most of the inspiration for this story comes from the original Stan Lee works, although the movies certainly played a role for some characters, as did the new Avengers show. Things to point out...some very important things have been hinted at. And what I said just a few paragraphs above about gamma radiation? I did my homework. Look it up. Before anyone says this (if anyone would have) the stories I mentioned about Captain America WILL be told another time. I just wanted to focus on his final battle in the '40s. Also, the stories I hinted at in Thor's segment will be told. Just wait and see. That's about all I've got to say! Read and Review! And please, keep it relevant. Don't ask me about a different story.<p>

Edits: I caught a plot hole you could drive a truck through. How is Cannon smart enough to attend MIT? So I changed his business with Starr. Also added a bit to the Hulk segment to make it less abrupt.


	2. Journey Into Mystery

**MisterDrBob presents: The Avengers**

Summary: And there came a day, a day unlike any other, when Earth's mightiest heroes found themselves united against a common threat. On that day, the Avengers were born — to fight foes no single hero could withstand! Through the years, their roster has prospered, changing many times, but their glory has never been denied! Heed the call, then — for now, Avengers Assemble!

Disclaimer: All characters belong to Marvel and Disney

Chapter 2: Journey Into Mystery

"Well Dr. Foster, what do you make of him?"

"He's unremarkable. But other than the fact that he's in my hospital, I really don't know why you want to talk to me," Jane Foster said. Director Nick Fury let his lips curl into a wry grin and gave her a one-eyed look as he sipped on the cup of coffee he'd been offered from the hospital cafeteria.

"I took a look at your file. You're a busy girl. Not only did you become a full practitioner two years early while working as a nurse, but you're also a recognized expert on Norse mythology." Jane's cheeks turned rosy.

"Well, I wouldn't say expert..." she mumbled.

"Knock it off. You know your stuff. Anyhow: this," Fury took out a portfolio from his briefcase and placed it on Jane's desk, "is what was found near where he was picked up." Jane flipped through the photos, intrigued.

"Those are markings look like runes. But I've never seen any like them," she said. "And that is one big hammer."

"That big hammer might just be what made the crater that used to be a cornfield," Fury said.

"So you think that's Mjollnir or something?" Jane asked in disbelief.

"The folks whose house he stumbled into say he claimed to be Thor, we've got this massive crater and wonky signs, and don't tell me you didn't notice that severe thunderstorm last night. A severe thunderstorm in the middle of winter?"

"Well I did, but come on. Flukes happen, especially here in the Midwest."

"Three crazy things happening within five minutes is a pretty big fluke," Fury laughed. Jane felt unnerved by that laugh. Maybe it was the eyepatch.

"Okay, so say the hammer's the real deal, but come on. Have you seen this guy? He's 110 at the most. Thor was supposed to be huge!"

"Well that I can't account for," Fury admitted. "But strange things have been going on all over the world in case you haven't noticed. My organization is supposed to be all over this kind of thing, but he's got us stumped."

"So what do you want from me?"

"Find out what his deal is," Fury demanded. "Find out if he's crazy, or high, or who he says he is. And if he is that last one," Fury said as he stood up, "find out what he's doing here in Minnesota."

* * *

><p>Jane braced herself. She wasn't quite sure how this would play out since she'd only seen the man she was about to have a heart-to-heart with when he was unconscious. On a scale of craziness from 1 to 10, she was willing to bet as low as 7-8. After all, he'd walked into an unfamiliar house completely naked and proclaimed himself to be the Norse God of Thunder. She caught her first glimpse of him awake as she neared his room. He barely acknowledged her.<p>

"Hi there," she said, trying to sound gentle, but not patronizing.

"Hello," he said feebly.

"I'm Dr. Foster. What's your name?"

"I don't remember," the man said, wincing as he held his head.

"Well, it's not unheard of for an emotionally traumatizing incident to cause amnesia," Jane said scribbling on her notepad. "We'll run some tests to see if there are any other factors contributing to the amnesia, and then we'll transfer you to the psychiatric ward where a therapist will work with you to help you regain your memories."

"Alright," the main said sadly. "Dost thou think I'll ever regain my memories?" Jane did a double take.

"Dost thou?"

"Aye," the man said. "What troubles you?"

"It's just," Jane stuttered, "_Nobody_ speaks like that anymore."

"It is the only way I know," the man said almost apologetically.

"Okay, maybe your therapist will be able to help with that as well," Jane said as she stood. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have other patients to attend to. But I'll check back in on you later." Jane closed the door behind her, to find Nick Fury waiting.

"How much did you hear?" she asked.

"Just enough," he replied. "Look, I can tell that you may need to get some hands-on experience with this. You want to see the hammer we found? I can get you there."

* * *

><p>In the realm of Asgard, all was still and calm. Loki hated still.<p>

"Bored," he muttered as he tried to amuse himself by creating shapes in the air with magic fire. It didn't work.

"Well that's what you get when you get rid of your biggest source of fun," a sultry female voice taunted from the shadows of Loki's bedchamber.

"Silence, witch," Loki snapped. "Your still-burning torch for my miserable half-brother poisons your words."

Amora the Enchantress slipped out of the shadows, a slight pout upon her lips.

"Come now love, I merely meant-"

"Meant to make me regret getting Thor banished," Loki said dismissively. "I shall hear none of it. Thor can still provide me with entertainment, even though All-Father has placed him within a weak mortal coil."

"Oh?" Amora said, tempting this revelation out of the trickster. "And how can Thor be half as entertaining on Midgard?" Loki's lips curled into a cruel sneer.

"Fetch Skurge."

* * *

><p>Agents of Fury's organization scurried around the cornfield. They were working on shielding the crater from sight, but whenever Director Fury was close enough, they'd snap to attention.<p>

"Who did you say you were with again?" Jane asked.

"That's a need-to-know kind of thing," Fury said plainly. "And you don't need to know yet."

Jane thought this sounded fishy, but the FBI agents mingling with Fury's definitely were for real.

"Here you go," Fury said as they reached a makeshift perimeter. "Take as long as you need."

Jane passed over the threshold. For as busy as the scene outside was, the air inside this makeshift cave was eerily still. The crater was easily twenty feet in diameter, and fairly deep. Jane felt her breath catch in her chest as she saw the hammer in the middle of it. She approached it slowly, looking at the runic markings on the ground as she went. She had definitely never seen any like that before. It had been said that Odin had hung himself from Yggdrasil the world tree in order to gain knowledge of the eighteen secret runes. Jane wondered briefly if those were what these were. She knelt by the hammer. It rested at an angle on its head, a tiny corner of it buried in the ground. Jane nervously reached out and touched it. Nothing happened. She got a better grasp and pulled. It didn't budge. She tried again, nothing. She stood up, and pulled with all her strength, and still the hammer wouldn't give. She gave up, and took a closer look at one of the sides of the head. There were runes on the hammer as well, but these were more familiar.

"I can read this!" Jane said aloud, not caring that nobody could hear her. "Whosoever holds this hammer, if he be worthy, shall posses the power of Thor." She leaned back so she was sitting on her heels. The wheels of her head were spinning so fast, they'd soon lose their axles. This seemed to be the real deal. But there was only one way to be completely sure.

* * *

><p>"Absolutely not!"<p>

Jane was in the office of Dr. Calvin Zabo, the hospital administrator.

"Sir, Director Fury-"

"I don't care what government spook wants you to do what," Zabo scowled, "you're not removing an amnesiac patient - recovering from a gunshot I might add - from this hospital!"

"Dr. Zabo, with all due respect, I don't think you understand just how vital this is!"

"Please," Zabo said, "Don't toot your own horn here Foster. He's staying here, and that's final."

Jane could see that this was going nowhere, so she made a swift exit. Two-faced Zabo, always playing up the public image of the benevolent hospital director, while only caring about the bottom line when no cameras were in his face. It was ugly really, and Jane could not stand working under him. But a job is a job is a job, and Jane loved hers despite having to do it under Zabo. She stopped and thought for a minute, trying to decide what to do. She made it to her office, and took an old copy of _The Eddas_ from her bookshelf. Her father had read these stories to her as a girl. Thor, Odin, Loki, Balder, Heimdall, Freyja, Sif, Tyr, Fenrir, Utgard-Loki, the names brought forth old memories of her father. Jane decided that she had to see this mystery patient at least one more time before making up her mind.

Jane hurried to the psychiatric wing where Dr. Amar Sandu was treating her patient. Sandu was a good psychiatrist, and an expert in hypnotherapy. Jane reached them just before Sandu was about to work his magic.

"Dr. Foster, did you come to observe?" He asked in his heavily accented British-English.

"I did, I want to see how this goes," Jane said, trying to put both the patient and Sandu at ease.

"Very well then, I will begin. Now, I want you to close your eyes and relax," Sandu said. The patient nodded and closed his eyes. Sandu took out a little bell and began tolling it every five seconds. The tiny _tings _sounded almost like music. "Think of a relaxing place," Sandu said. "And when I stop ringing this bell, tell me where you are."

The ringing stopped.

"I am...in a field," the patient said. "The sun is shining, I am sitting in the shade of a tree."

"Is anyone with you?" Sandu asked.

"Aye, fair Sif," the patient said.

"Who is Sif?" Sandu asked confused.

"The Goddess of the Harvest, sister of Heimdall," the patient readily explained.

"And how do you know these people?" Sandu asked.

"Because I am Thor, God of Thunder," the patient said, confidence entering his voice. "My mighty hammer Mjollnir is by my side, ready to strike down any Jotunn that dares enter the Realm Eternal. The Warriors Three and Balder spar nearby, while Loki sits and amuses himself by making Volstagg's sword heavy so Fandral can hit him easier."

Sandu was at a complete loss.

"He has a god complex," he said to Jane. "I was not expecting that."

"I was," Jane said. "I think you've done some great work Dr. Sandu. But I think there's more to what he's saying than a complex."

"Surely you don't believe he's the Norse god of thunder?" Sandu scoffed.

"I know it sounds hard to believe," Jane said, "And I'm not even sure what I believe. But I'm going to find out. Come on, Thor. We're going to get your hammer back."

* * *

><p>"Where did you say we were going?" 'Thor' asked. He was somewhat lucid again, which meant his amnesia had returned.<p>

"Well, what you said while you were hypnotized meshes with some pretty weird stuff I've seen," Jane explained as she got off the highway. "I'm taking you to see those things, and maybe that'll make you remember who you are."

The drive was unremarkable. Jane liked how peaceful Minnesota could be, especially when snow covered the ground. It had come early this year, dusting the ground before Halloween even. In just a month and a couple of weeks, Christmas would come, and then the New Year would begin. Jane wondered where she would be in a year from now. Would this mysterious patient still be in the psychiatric ward?

Jane's car was very close to the field where the hammer was. Traffic had gotten pretty clogged. Jane frowned. This road wasn't usually very traveled, and even when it was, it almost never backed up. A deep boom clued her in that something was wrong. Before she could turn around, another boom sounded, followed by another and another until cars were being shoved out of the way by what Jane could only describe as

"Giants," Jane said in disbelief, panic slowly setting in.

"Odinson!" One of them shouted. "We know you are near! Come out and fight!"

"Stay in the car," Jane said to the mystery patient. The giants were still plowing through cars, many of which Jane could see belonged to Fury's organization.

"And what 'ave we 'ere?" One of them chortled as he moved for Jane's car. Suddenly, Jane saw that her companion was no longer in his seat. He was limping toward the giant, cane in hand.

"I do not know my name, nor yours," the patient said boldly. "But you do not need to harm innocents."

"Well well well," the giant laughed. "So _this_ is the form Thor's been stuck in!" The other giants doubled over in laughter.

"I do not remember who I am, but you seem to know me," Jane's patient said.

"Know you? You're the one we're looking for!" The lead giant bellowed.

"Then take me and leave these people alone," the young man said. More laughter from the giants followed.

"That would be no fun," the leader said. "We'll keep doin' as we please, startin' with the wench you were with!" Suddenly, a whistling sound pierced the air. Before Jane could see what was happening, lightning had struck.

"I say thee...NAY!"

Jane removed her hands from her eyes. The scrawny young man was gone. In his place stood a towering figure, clad in armor, adorned with a long red cape and winged helmet containing the blond locks blowing in the breeze. In his hand was the hammer from the crater.

"Away Jotunn, lest thy skulls yield to Mjollnir!" he shouted. There was no doubt about it: this was Thor.

The Jotunn did not heed Thor's warning. The burly leader lunged for his old enemy, only to be stopped far from Thor by Mjollnir, which Thor had thrown unerringly. It struck him in the chest, then turned in the air and soared back into Thor's waiting hand.

"Art thou alright, Jane Foster?" Thor asked, turning toward the car.

"I'm fine," Jane eventually stammered. "Just a little shocked."

Thor smiled, and instantly Jane felt calmer.

"I know that I am now in an age where gods and giants are inconceivable, but fear not Jane Foster, I shall defend this realm!"

Jane's heart stopped as Thor quickly whirled his hammer and soared into the sky. Seconds later, he plunged feet first into the second Jotunn. It was Wagnerian opera brought to life as club met hammer and hammer met giant flesh. In a matter of minutes, it was done. Jane got out of the car and began running, in spite of the fact that her legs felt like sticks that wouldn't bend. Before she knew what was happening, a burly, muscular arm had seized her.

"We meet again, Thunderer," her captor said. He seemed to be neither man nor Jotunn, but something in between.

"Skurge," Thor said with contempt. "I should have known you and Amora were the ones who brought these monsters here!"

"The Enchantress sends her regards," Skurge said coldly. "I shall win her favor by besting you this day Thor."

"When Jormungand loses his tail," Thor scoffed.

"You insult me," Skurge growled. "We'll see who's laughing when I present Amora with your head!" Jane found herself thrown to the ground, instantly chained. Magic, she supposed. Skurge had taken out a large battle axe and raised it above his head as Thor charged at him.

"You may call yourself Executioner," Thor roared as he swung Mjollnir at Skurge's chest, "But thou hast never been anything but a cowardly butcher!"

"So boasts the thunder!" Skurge retorted. "Thou forget Thor that thine own father rewarded me for my bravery against the Jotunn!"

"Until you embraced them like your precious Enchantress!" Thor taunted. Skurge lost it. Bellowing like a beast, he swung like mad, missing every time. Thor finally got a shot in and whammed Skurge on the shoulder. Skurge slumped back in pain, but was not out of commission yet.

"Woman!" Skurge spat. "T'was a womanly taunt Thor, and thou knows't!" It was Thor's turn to lose his temper. Jane cringed as she remembered that being called womanly was about the worst thing a Viking could be called.

"I have had enough of you!" Thor grunted as he swung Mjollnir repeatedly, only to be blocked by the ax. "Thou art a traitor to the All-Father, a conspirator of a witch, and a cowardly bully!"

"Says the one who attacked Jotunheim unprovoked!" Skurge shot back. "You are no better than I, Thunderer, but I shall prove myself thy better by winning Amora's hand!"

"Take it!" Thor grimaced. "I care not for the witch."

"You insult my lady!" Skurge roared. "That shall be the last you utter against my honor!"

"My God, the testosterone!" Jane sighed from her chains. "This is kind of ridiculous."

Skurge had whipped out another trick. Apparently, in order to prove Amora's worth, he had imbued some of her spells into his ax, allowing him to shoot fire and ice from it. He shot these in turn at Thor, only for the fire to miss, or the ice to not stop Thor for long.

"This ends now," Thor said. He began spinning his hammer. Suddenly, a light spiraled from it before erupting into a rainbow. The Bifrost had been opened. Thor kept spinning, finally launching the hammer at Skurge. "Back to Asgard with you! I shall deal with you there!"

"NAY THY SON!" A booming voice filled the air louder than Thor's thunder. Jane's jaw dropped as a figure clad in gold armor appeared. His beard was longer than Thor's, white as snow, and a golden eyepatch covered his right eye.

Odin

"Father!" Thor dropped on one knee.

"Rise my son," Odin said. "I am proud of you Thor. You have already learned the first lesson I hoped to teach you."

"And that is?" Thor asked, confused.

"Search yourself. You know."

Thor thought.

"Battle must not be sought, but when it comes, it must be faced without fear."

"Precisely," Odin said.

"I may come home then?" Thor asked. Odin shook his head.

"Nay my son. Thy exile is not complete yet. There are more lessons for you to learn." Odin then took notice of Jane.

"Who is this?" He asked.

"This is Jane Foster, father," Thor said, helping Jane up. "She helped me find Mjollnir." Odin looked her over.

"I can see that thou art a wise woman Jane Foster," Odin said. "Wilt thou accept the task of aiding my son?"

Jane could hardly believe what was happening.

"I- I- I suppose," she stammered.

"You have my thanks," Odin said. "As for Skurge, he shall not go unpunished," he assured Thor. He snapped his fingers and shackles appeared on the Executioner. "Place Mjollnir on the ground, Thor," Odin instructed. Thor obeyed. Odin closed his eye and stretched his hand over the hammer, whispering under his breath. "Now this hammer shall be a means of disguise for you. Be strong my son, and learn well."

"I will father, I promise!" Thor called as Odin departed. Thor turned to Jane. Jane tried desperately to think of something to say. Thor began examining Mjollnir.

"This is strange magic," Thor announced. "I must strike the ground with Mjollnir to activate it."

"What does it d-?" Jane began to ask before Thor pounded the ground. Light flashed all around Jane, nearly blinding her. When she opened her eyes again, her patient stood before her.

"Not bad" Jane laughed. "I certainly wouldn't suspect a thing."

Thor laughed.

"Thank you," he said. "Thank you for helping me Jane Foster."

"Just Jane is fine," Jane explained. "You don't have to call me by my full name."

"And what shall my name be?" Thor asked.

"I think I can help with that," Jane jumped as she turned. Nick Fury was standing with four agents.

"Director Fury!" Jane exclaimed.

"Good work Doctor Foster," Fury said. "Looks like we managed to figure out everything. Here," he handed Thor a stack of papers. "These are your new identification papers and credentials. Welcome to Earth Dr. Don Blake."

"I can't believe it!" Jane said. "It's all true! There were giants or stone men from Saturn or whatever, Odin, everything!"

Fury nodded.

"It's like I told you," he said. "We see some pretty strange stuff. It's our job to stay on top of it."

"But who are you?" Jane asked. Fury gave that wry grin of his again.

"You can call us S.H.I.E.L.D. "

* * *

><p>Author's Notes: And here we go! I've been itching to get this published, but writing the fight scene was such slow going! Anyway, this is what you can expect: individual hero chapters, with the focus switching each chapter (although there may be a few chapters where they consecutively center on one hero), and every so often the Avengers will assemble. So next chapter...I'll make that a surprise! Thanks for being patient as always, and don't forget to read and review!<p>

Edits: Nothing much. Just some style fixes.


	3. Tales of Suspense

**MisterDrBob presents: The Avengers**

Summary: And there came a day, a day unlike any other, when Earth's mightiest heroes found themselves united against a common threat. On that day, the Avengers were born — to fight foes no single hero could withstand! Through the years, their roster has prospered, changing many times, but their glory has never been denied! Heed the call, then — for now, Avengers Assemble!

Disclaimer: All characters belong to Marvel and Disney

Chapter 3: Tales of Suspense

The hot Afghan sun blinded Tony Stark temporarily in spite of his sunglasses as he exited his private plane. He could feel Rhodey right behind him, but he knew his friend was in no hurry. Out the corner of his eye he spotted General Clark approaching.

"Mr. Stark, welcome to the Afghan theater," Clark greeted.

"Always a pleasure general," Tony replied as he shook the general's hand. The pleasantries continued until it was time of the presentation to start.

"Gentlemen, I am pleased to unveil Star Industries' newest game-changer," Tony said, adopting his showman persona. "This repulsor powered missile is the fastest we've built yet. Capable of either carrying a warhead or intercepting one, it can basically be put to any use you can think of. I call it 'The Demon in a Bottle.'"

Said missile certainly resembled its namesake. At one end, a narrow protrusion contained the repulsor tech Tony had personally developed, which tapered into the wider main part of the missile, which then abruptly shelved so that the other end was fairly flat, creating the striking image of a bottle.

On Tony's cue, a technician initiated the start-up sequence for the Demon. About 15 seconds later, the constructed target 400km across the plain had been destroyed. Ten of those seconds had been for the start-up.

There was a collective cheer as smoke billowed through the air. Tony, savoring the moment, took an over-the-top bow.

"Now then," he said, "How many shall I put you gents down for?"

* * *

><p>Three hours later, Tony had negotiated the sale of 3,000 Demon units. Pleased with his work, Stark was about to board his plane home.<p>

Then it happened.

A man was inside Tony's plane. To say he looked tough was an understatement. Tattoos covered every inch of his visible body below his chin, he wore what was unmistakably a prison jumpsuit, and in each hand he had a long chain. Tony let out a shout as the intruder swung one of these chains as if it were a whip. It struck Tony sharply on the shoulder, audibly cracking the bone. The second makeshift whip was aimed for Rhodey who was running in at his boss and friend's cry. The whip made him leap back and fall off the entry stairs. The attacker wasted no time. He roughly grabbed Tony and threw him into a seat. To Tony's dismay, nobody in the military was aware of the situation yet.

"Who are you?" Tony shouted in anguish. "Who are you working for?"

"Name's not important," the man growled. "But you'll be meeting my employers soon enough."

Tony's assailant then bound him tight with yet another chain, and took the plane's controls. Tony's heart sank even deeper when he realized that the plane's windows were all covered. He had no way of knowing where he was going.

He could hear a commotion outside. The military knew something was up, but there was no way they could do anything without putting Tony in danger.

"Enjoy the ride Stark," Tony's captor chortled. "It'll be your last."

An hour later, the plane began to descend. A burlap sack was shoved onto Tony's head, and he was yanked out of his seat and literally thrown off the plane. He screamed in pain as he landed on his already broken shoulder. Seconds later, he heard footsteps crunching the gravelly sand he was laying on. He heard voices shouting in different languages. Some of them sounded indigenous to the area, but others Tony could have sworn sounded distinctly Oriental.

The shouting of orders intensified and terror entered the voices as whistling was heard. The ground rocked with explosions. The cavalry had arrived!

"Thank God," Tony whispered. Someone grabbed him, but Tony was feeling confident that he'd be rescued in ten minutes. Pain abruptly entered Tony's chest. The sound of an explosion echoed in his skull a million miles away. His breath caught in his chest, and he lost consciousness.

* * *

><p>Tony regained his hearing before he regained his sight. He heard no voices, but there was some scuffling around him. His chest was sore, but he wasn't seeming to have any more breathing trouble.<p>

"Good morning," a heavy accent greeted him as his eyes opened. "Welcome back to the land of the living Mr. Stark."

"Where am I?" Tony coughed, clearing his throat.

"Rest easy, you're safe. For the moment," the voice added cautiously.

"Where am I?" Tony repeated firmly.

"You're somewhere in the Middle East. If I knew more specifically, I'd tell you," the voice Tony could now determine was male admitted. "You have been taken prisoner, like me. Prisoner of the Ten Rings."

Tony was able to make everything out now. He was in a dingy cell that seemed to have been built into a cave. The cell was sparsely decorated, and even that was mostly medical equipment. The other inhabitant of the cell was a middle aged gentlemen whose slightly darker skin indicated his local origin.

"Who are you?" Tony asked.

"My name's Yinsen," he said cordially. "And I know who you are Tony Stark."

"Hard to find people who don't," Tony grumbled. He then stopped in shock as he looked down. His arm had been set, and had presumably healed some, but what concerned Tony more were the bandages surrounded his chest.

"What happened?" He asked as he started to undo the bandages.

"Ah - that's not a good idea just now!" Yinsen protested. "Let me explain. You were caught in an explosion. I saved your life. I removed all the shrapnel I could, but..."

Tony didn't need to hear the rest. He could feel the metal shards still inside him.

"To remove them would have been impossible without damaging your heart," Yinsen finished apologetically. "You don't have long." There was no mercy in the words.

"What do they want with us?" Tony asked.

"Weapons," Yinsen said simply. "And who better to give them weapons than the best?"

The conversation was abruptly interrupted by the sound of people moving outside.

"On your feet!" Yinsen said urgently as he grabbed Tony and helped him up.

"He's awake!" Yinsen announced as their captors entered their view. They seemed typical of most extremists that had been giving the U.S. Military trouble. Tony wondered if this was a cell of al-Queda or something else. In the center though, was a tall man who was clearly of Chinese descent.

"Greetings Tony Stark," he said in a refined accent. "I have been waiting a long time to acquire your services."

"By kidnapping me?" Tony asked. The man frowned.

"Charming," he said snobbishly. "I accepted an opportunity from a powerful enemy of yours Stark. He promised me your weapons if I would ensure you would not bother him again."

"So who was it? Stane? Hammer?" Tony started. The cocking of a gun silenced him.

"They sent one of their agents to bring you to me alive," the man said. "And they promised me that you would build me this 'Demon in a Bottle' of yours."

"Why would I do that?" Tony asked.

"Because I will let you live if you do," the man said. "I will go back on my word and send you back to the United States."

Tony didn't buy this for a second, but he could tell that it was that or be killed instantly.

"Well then, when do I start?"

* * *

><p>"Who are they?" Tony asked Yinsen as he hauled a box of scraps toward the workbench. He'd dispensed of the wrappings on his arm, finding that his arm was fine, but still in pain.<p>

"They are the Ten Rings. They're a recent movement who've sprung up all over Asia. They started taking little villages in China here and there, but recently they've moved out here into the Middle East, blazing a trail of death. They claim to serve the reincarnation of Genghis Kahn."

"The guy we talked to?" Tony asked. Yinsen nodded.

"They call him the Mandarin."

"Who is he though?"

Yinsen shook his head.

"Other than the title, I know nothing about him. You can't be considering helping him Stark, you know he's lying."

"It doesn't matter," Tony said. "I'm a dead man walking. You said so yourself."

"So this is your last stand?" Yinsen spat. "Cowing in to adversity. Let me tell you Stark, I have seen good men killed by this cell. Men with souls of iron. They didn't back down, and they never betrayed what was right. And they died because of men like you who have been profiting from this war."

"Even without me, they'd still be able to steal one of the Demons," Tony said, knowing in his heart that was unlikely. "What am I supposed to do, then?"

"Stop them!" Yinsen said. "You're one of the brightest men alive! Come up with a plan to free us and stamp out these butchers!"

He was right. Tony had been thrust into cold reality. This was the world his work had helped fuel. A world where extremists gained power and terrorized the innocent, and had easy means to do so. He racked his brain, trying to come up with a plan.

"The first thing," he said slowly. "Is to buy some more time."

* * *

><p>Pepper Potts nearly fainted when she heard the news from Rhodey.<p>

"_KIDNAPPED_?" She squeaked, hands clapped over her mouth. "Omigodomigodomigod, Rhodey, please tell me I didn't just hear that!"

"I'm sorry, Pepper," Rhodey said, fatigue lining his face. "They're doing all they can to find him."

"How long do you think we have before they-"

"They won't," Rhodey firmly interrupted. "Don't think like that Pepper, you're starting to sound like Happy!"

"It's a realistic point of view!" Harold "Happy" Hogan, Tony Stark's chauffeur and buddy shouted from the next room where he was eating dinner. "Why wouldn't they just cap him?"

"Because they need him," Rhodey said. "They went to an awful lot of trouble to specifically get Tony. Which means that they need him alive until he gives them what they want."

"And what do they want?" Pepper gasped.

"The Demon probably," Rhodey said grimly.

"You don't think Tony would help them would you?" Pepper said aghast. "Wait, don't answer that. Of course he would. We're doomed."

* * *

><p>"Quite impressive," Yinsen whistled as he looked at what Tony had built. Sitting on the table was a glowing translucent device, shaped like a half-sphere.<p>

"Yeah, gotta say I outdid myself here. But they'll have no idea just how big this is," Tony said.

"What is it exactly?" Yinsen asked.

"This my friend," Tony said, "Is the world's first miniature arc reactor."

"_That's_ an arc reactor?" Yinsen yelped.

"Yup," Tony said nonchalantly. "Would've done it a long time ago, but y'know, my life wasn't depending on it, so..."

"Amazing," Yinsen said sarcastically. "And it's going to buy us time by...?"

"By powering this electromagnet," Tony said holding up a bar of metal with a copper wire wrapped around it. "The reactor will run a current through it, and it'll keep the shrapnel from entering my heart."

"Brilliant!" Yinsen said. "But how will you get it in?"

"I won't. You operated on me once, I bet you can do it again."

Yinsen looked ashen faced.

"We don't have any anesthesia."

"I know," Tony nodded. "So make it quick and clean. I'll try not to cry too much."

Yinsen gritted his teeth and gathered his medical supplies. It was a hellish experience for the two men, but soon enough, Yinsen was sewing the wound back up for a second time, but this time, it was around the metal fixture that housed the arc reactor.

The next morning, both men found themselves with more energy and spirit.

"Now what?" Yinsen asked as he got Tony some water. Tony was breathing deeply, testing his lungs and heart, and trying to regain energy from the pain he'd suffered.

"Next," he said finally. "I bust us out."

The two men slaved day after day, sweating over a fire, pounding away at scraps of metal. After weeks of working, the Ten Rings were starting to get antsy. They demanded to be updated on the weapon's progress, but Tony said that it would be more satisfying to see the completed product. Surprisingly enough, this satisfied the lieutenant berating them. Tony had a feeling that wouldn't have flown with the Mandarin, and then he and Yensin's goose would've been cooked.

A few weeks into the project, the captives were presented with "shows of gratitude from the Mandarin" to help them relax while they worked: a ridiculously beat up boom box with some Black Sabbath tapes. Tony's music tastes weren't exactly a secret, especially since he had personally hosted a music event and awarded the Prince of Darkness himself with an award. Tony could tell Yinsen didn't care for heavy metal, but the older man said nothing. After months of no music, anything was good.

The Ten Rings were really starting to get suspicious now, and chatter from the guards suggested that the Mandarin was returning soon. Their days were numbered and they knew it. Tony and Yinsen were beginning to work through the night now, trying to finish the weapon as soon as possible, preferably before the Mandarin arrived.

Finally, it was ready.

They'd left the music on, partly to cover any noise, and partly to convince the guards that it was business as usual. _Paranoid_ was in the box currently, and _War Pigs_ was finishing up as they began to ready it.

Suddenly, there were shouts in the cave outside and bangs on the door.

"We're done for!" Yinsen moaned.

"Not yet we're not," Tony said. "We still have time."

"Not enough," Yinsen said. "Keep going, I'm buying you more."

"No! Stick to the plan! We can both make it!" Tony shouted. But Yinsen had grabbed one of the explosives they'd built and dashed out the door. The door was constantly posted with guards, hence Yinsen was spotted as soon as he left. There were shouts, shots, and a loud boom. Tony heard the door being locked from the outside. The weapon was now ready. The familiar drumbeats to Tony's favorite song started as he prepared to make his first strike.

From outside, the guards could hear movement from within. The fool had blown up a portion of the cave far from the door. Suddenly, the door dented, as if being hit by something large and sturdy.

**I AM IRON MAN!** the voice of a mechanical monstrosity droned. It was the music. Suddenly, the door blew off with another blow.

Right as the guitar riffs started, the guards caught sight of something they could hardly believe.

Tony Stark was clad in a bulky metal suit of armor. He lumbered forward, swinging his fists at the guards, who were too dumbfounded to move out of the way, much less fire at him.

"Yinsen!" Stark's voice echoed inside the helmet he'd fashioned. Yinsen was crumpled on the floor of the cave. Was he alive or dead? Tony dreaded finding out either way.

"Stark" Yinsen said weakly, his body riddled with bullets. "I'm sorry my friend, I had to make sure you would escape." Tony didn't know what to say, and found himself ashamed when all that came out was

"Thank you"

"Stark, you've seen what you've helped accomplish. You can still undo it. Seize that opportunity!"

"I will," Tony said. "I swear to you Yinsen. I'll do whatever it takes to make this right!" Yinsen smiled as he breathed his last. Tony turned to the task at hand: escape.

The commotion had not gone unnoticed unfortunately. Every member of the cell was headed his way to block off his escape. Tony winced as he felt the force of the bullets being absorbed by his armor. Luckily though, he'd made it from the finest iron available to him and reinforced it with Yinsen. It would take something much more heavy duty to pierce it. Stark punched his way through most of the guards, but before he reached daylight, he saw a stash of weapons. His weapons. Burning with fury, Tony grasped at the device stored in the right arm of his suit, and unleashed a jet of flame from the concealed flamethrower. He then turned and made his way towards the exit as fast as he could. The other terrorists saw what he had done and wisely turned and ran for it, knowing that an explosion was imminent.

Tony had just reached the open air when the stockpile of pilfered weapons exploded. He wasn't sure who all had been inside the cave, but he knew that at least seven members of the Ten Rings had escaped. Now came the part Tony wasn't looking forward to, namely trekking across the desert with over one hundred pounds of metal covering him, helped only by the power of the arc reactor, which was as yet untested for powering anything but a human heart. By a stroke of luck, he didn't have to wait long.

Less than an hour after leaving the cave, Tony had climbed his ninth ridge. Stepping carefully so as not to lose his footing, he descended the other side of the hill and continued to a much flatter area. He had little idea of where he was going, all he knew was that he had to get somewhere populated before his energy ran out.

Just as this was looking less and less likely, Tony heard the whir of a helicopter's blades. And coming over the horizon was an HH-60 Pave Hawk. And Tony knew exactly who was piloting it. Tony clumsily made his way toward it as it started to descend.

"This is Lieutenant Colonel James Rhodes of the United States Air Force!" Rhodey's voice said through the chopper's speakers. "Identify yourself!"

"Let me get this straight," Tony hollered. "You ask the thing you've been looking for for months to identify itself? Win Rhodey, win!"

Rhodey was confused.

"What-?"

"It's me!" Tony shouted "It's Tony, Rhodey!"

"Oh my god," Rhodey said, taken aback. "Tony! It's really you man!" Rhodey leaped out of the jet and got a better look at his friend.

"Pretty cool, huh?" Tony asked lifting up the faceplate of his helmet.

"Yeah!" Rhodey laughed. "That may just be the coolest thing you've ever made!"

"Yeah, and it's killing me right now, can we get in?" Tony panted.

"Course!" Rhodey said, remembering the mission. "I've got a change of clothes with me, let's get you out of this thing!"

Inside the chopper, Rhodey helped Tony remove the bulky iron armor.

"How'd you ever come up with this?" Rhodey asked, half laughing in amazement.

"Well you know what they say," Tony said as he removed his left boot. "Necessity is the mother of invention."

"What's that?" Rhodey asked pointing to the arc reactor in Tony's chest.

"Oh that," Tony said. "It's an arc reactor I made to power the suit, and keeping my heart from getting penetrated."

"Say what?" Rhodey asked, his attention caught by the bit about his heart.

"Shrapnel," Tony said. "This thing is keeping it in place, and out of my heart."

"That little thing that you're saying is an arc reactor," Rhodey said in disbelief.

"Told you I'd get around to it someday," Tony said, wiping sweat from his face and straightening out his goatee.

"Man, I cannot believe my eyes," Rhodey said as he examined the armor as Tony finished removing it. "What're you going to do with it?"

"Keep it," Tony said simply. "I've got plans for it."

"What about the guys who captured you?" Rhodey asked. "We don't have any leads on them."

"I think I took care of most of them," Tony said. "I haven't seen the guy who actually took me."

"The ones with the chain whips?"

"That's the one. He split after delivering me. I think he was working for Hammer or Stane."

"What makes you say that?" Rhodey asked.

"The leader of the cell, guy they called the Mandarin, he said one of my enemies had hired him and the whip guy to kidnap me."

"Sounds like something Stane and Hammer would do," Rhodey agreed. "But we've got no proof."

"I'll find proof," Tony said, "I'll find it if it's the last thing I do."

* * *

><p>The press made a huge show of Tony's return. Tony was still pretty dazed throughout the whole ordeal, through Pepper's tears and Happy's claps on the back. Finally, in a moment of clarity, Tony made his move and held a press conference outside his house in Malibu.<p>

"I'm not totally prepared to discuss in full what happened," he began. "But make no mistake, I am very firm about what I am going to say next. My father started this company to use innovation and technology to improve lives. All I've ever used it to do is take them. I saw with my own eyes what Stark Industries has accomplished: desolation and horror. It has become too easy for radicals like the ones that captured me to get their hands on dangerous equipment and use it to dominate their regions. That is why I am shutting down the Stark Weapons Division, effective immediately!"

The crowd went nuts with buzz, but Tony was already retreating into his home. Pepper, Happy, and Rhodey were all at a loss for words. Tony ignored them. He was going to uphold his promise to Yinsen.

Iron Man had a mission.

* * *

><p>Author's Notes: Well here it is! Hope you all like the liberties I've taken with the origin. And please excuse the Black Sabbath bits. I just had to indulge myself this once and border on songfic. I actually don't like them that much outside of that song. Anyway, hopefully the next chapter'll be coming soon! Read and review!<p>

Edits: Added some detail and dialogue.


	4. Tales to Astonish

**MisterDrBob presents: The Avengers**

Summary: And there came a day, a day unlike any other, when Earth's mightiest heroes found themselves united against a common threat. On that day, the Avengers were born — to fight foes no single hero could withstand! Through the years, their roster has prospered, changing many times, but their glory has never been denied! Heed the call, then — for now, Avengers Assemble!

Disclaimer: All characters belong to Marvel and Disney

Chapter 4: Tales to Astonish

_**Part 1: The Man in the Anthill**_

"Hank? Earth to Hank? Hank!"

Janet van Dyne pouted as she tried to get her boyfriend Hank Pym's attention.

"You say something Jan?" Hank asked, completely oblivious.

Jan groaned and buried her head in the small of Hank's back.

"Hey! What's the big idea?" Hank laughed.

"I've been trying to get your attention for the last five minutes!" Jan said.

"Sorry! I'm in the middle of a breakthrough!" Hank apologized.

"Yeah, that's what you said five hours ago," Jan pointed out. "You need a break."

"No I don't!" Hank said. "I took one ten minutes ago."

"It's four o'clock Hank," Jan said. Hank checked his phone.

"Huh. So it is," he said as he got right back to work. Jan was having none of it. She pondered her options. She could try the direct method (drag Hank away even if she had to take his chair too) or the subtle method (feminine wiles). In the end, it was a no-brainer. She leaned down and wrapped her arms around him. Hank relaxed a bit.

"Come on, let's do something fun!" Jan pleaded. "It's not like you have to have this done today." This got Hank to actually turn around.

"What do you sugg-umph!" Hank found himself interrupted by Jan's sudden make-out attack.

"Argh! Jan! Come on!" Hank laughed as he tried to breath. "You win! Let's go do something." Jan stopped her assault and grinned.

"On second thought, I'm good where I am."

"So am I," Hank laughed. He took a long look at his girlfriend. "How'd I ever get so lucky?"

"Luck has nothing to do with it," Jan said. "It's all you, baby."

Hank smiled and stood up.

"C'mon, I am a little hungry. Let's go back to your place and get something."

"Sounds good to me," Jan said. She picked up her purse and followed Hank out of the lab.

And they both forgot to lock the door.

* * *

><p>Later that night, the door to the lab Pym used opened softly. Elias Starr snuck in, careful not to make a noise. He approached the desk, hoping that what he was looking for would be easy to find. It was. Right on top of the desk were Pym's notes labeled "Pym Particles." The ego of his former partner disgusted Starr. Pym got all the lucky breaks. The full scholarship, Janet van Dyne, the internship. That one burned worst of all. Pym had to have cheated to get that internship with Vernon van Dyne, and he'd used his daughter to do it.<p>

Starr wasn't about to let Pym have everything. He'd get his revenge on Pym and the van Dynes, and he'd planned the perfect crime to do it. Starr quickly read over Pym's notes. Starr had to hand it to his rival, Pym was smart. These particles sounded like they'd do what Pym thought. And Pym had conveniently already synthesized them, but hadn't had time to test them.

"What a perfect test run," he chuckled as he located the chemicals in the lab.

Minutes passed. Pym would return that night, Starr knew it. All he had to do was lie in wait.

After what felt like an eternity, the door opened, and Pym entered.

"Starr! What're you-?" Pym shouted. But Starr had lobbed the vial of chemical at Pym.

"I read your notes," Starr said. "Brilliant work Pym. How ironic that you manufactured your own death!" Pym was shrinking rapidly, screaming for help. But nobody could hear his voice any longer. Soon, Pym was out of sight.

"Enjoy your brief new life the size of an ant Pym," Starr laughed, wondering whether Pym's eardrums still worked. "I'm moving on to bigger and better things!" And with his part of the scheme tied up, Starr left the lab, all of Pym's research in hand, to find Cannon.

* * *

><p>Hank Pym was scared stiff. Of course, he was partly thrilled that his invention worked, but the fact that it was going to make him die took precedence. He'd stabilized at roughly a quarter of an inch in height.<p>

He had to get help. But who? And how would he make himself known? He took in his surroundings. The once familiar lab loomed large and frightening. Hank shivered and decided to at least get to his desk. Perhaps Starr had left some of the chemicals behind and Pym could try and return to his normal size. Failing that, he'd leave the lab and try to find Jan. He set off in the direction of the desk, which seemed a mile away at his size.

Hank took it at a run at first, but quickly tired out and slowed to a walk. He stopped and sniffed. He smelled something sweet. He looked around for the source of the smell. A cookie crumb was on the lab floor. It must have fallen out of Jan's purse. Hank examined it, wondering if it'd be safe to eat. It had definitely surpassed the five-second rule. He didn't have much time to ponder however, as a scuttling noise approached. Hank turned in fear and saw an ant approaching. It was about half his size, but that didn't make it any less scary to Hank.

Paralyzed with fear, Hank watched the insect approach. It eyed Hank with curiosity, trying to determine what he was, and if he was edible. Hank made a break for it, but the ant was having none of it. It chased after him, and soon caught up with Hank.

Hank yelled in pain as the ant's jaws clamped around his leg. The ant was dragging Hank off towards the door. In other words, the opposite direction.

He was going to die. There was simply no hope. Hank Pym was going to die in an anthill, and nobody would ever know. Here, the tracks took the train of Hank's thoughts to Jan. She'd know something had happened, but she'd never be able to prove it.

The anthill had a sort of beauty to it. Light from the outside penetrated a few inches, but beyond that, it was darkness. Hank stared in awe at the caverns these insects had carved out of the dirt before turning his attention to the other ants that were converging on this interesting new find. The captor ant let Hank go. Hank scrambled to his feet, ignoring the pain in his leg, and tried to look intimidating.

"Back off! I'm warning you!" He shouted, knowing full well they couldn't understand him. Of all the places to be stuck without his other invention. The ants were surrounding him, contemplating what to do. Hank was about to give up when one approached him and rather than clamp its jaws around his leg, butted Hank with its head and forced him on top of it. Hank was astonished. The ant was letting him ride it!

"Whoa!" Hank yelled as the ant took off, pursued by the others. The ant's body bumped up and down uncomfortably. Hank moved his legs and saw the source of the particular discomfort: this was a male ant he was riding, and it was about to take off!

"Oh man, not good," Hank moaned as the ant took to the air. Hank's heart and lungs dropped to his stomach as the ant gained altitude and sped toward the desk he had been trying to get to. This ant was something else! He had to be some sort of aberration; to the best of Hank's knowledge, male ants did nothing but eat and mate. So why had it abandoned its life pursuits to save him?

"Thank you," Hank said as the ant landed. "You can't understand a word I say right now, but thank you." The ant tilted its head, as if trying to understand.

Hank dashed across the desk and came across another vial of the chemicals.

"Oh thank God," Hank sighed in relief. Starr had taken another vial, probably so he could have something to compare his own research to. But that wasn't Hank's problem yet.

Hank hastily knocked the vial over and let the chemicals spill over him. Hank grinned as he felt himself getting taller, stabilizing at his normal height. He looked to the table and saw his ant friend.

Hank quickly ran to the cupboard and took out the invention that he and Starr had been working on: a cybernetic helmet that would allow for simple communications with other species. It was an odd looking helmet, round in shape, with two antennae on the forehead, and a mouthpiece that the user spoke into. This was the perfect time to test it. He put the helmet on and set the frequencies.

"Thank you," Hank said into the helmet's speaker. He could hear the helmet garbling his speech and transmitting it through the air.

"Welcome," came the reply. "Strange ant friend."

"My name is Hank Pym," Hank said. "I'll call you...Jack."

"Jack like," the ant replied.

"Jack, we don't have a whole lot of time," Hank said. "Do you think you could give me a lift again?"

"Yes," Jack said. "Jack happy have Ant-Man ride."

"Ant-Man," Hank chuckled. "Has a nice ring to it. Okay, Ant-Man it is then. Now come on Jack," Hank said as he grabbed the remaining vials. "We have to hurry and stop Starr!"

* * *

><p>"So remind me what we're doing again?" Dave Cannon asked Starr.<p>

"As I've told you before," Starr said impatiently, "It has become clear to me that our operations would be more profitable with more input from me. And with Pym's discovery, we can plan perfect escapes!"

"And what makes you think I still want to be your partner?" Cannon asked menacingly.

"Because I'm smart enough to plan those perfect crimes," Starr repeated. "You need my brain as much as I need your powers."

"Ok, I'll give you that," Cannon admitted. "I just don't see what killing this Pym guy has in it for me."

"Jan van Dyne," Starr offered. Cannon stopped.

"Jan van Dyne?" he repeated. Starr nodded. "The little hottie who's always hanging around Pym?"

"That's the one," Star said. "You can have your way with her before I end her and her father the same way I ended Pym."

"I like the sound of that," Cannon smirked. "What're we waiting for? Let's move!" Cannon started spinning in place and shot off like a bullet. Starr rolled his eyes at his companion's weakness. Janet van Dyne would only be a passing pleasure for him, but Starr was more excited about what the future held in store.

* * *

><p>Pym had searched the entire building and there was no sign of Starr. At least no sign that was definitely him. There was a swath of destruction through one of the hallways, as if a twister had blown through it. Pym didn't have time to stop and figure out that puzzle though, he had to find out what was going on.<p>

Suddenly, his cell phone buzzed. It was Jan.

"Hello?" Hank answered.

"Hank!" Jan whispered in fright. "We're being attacked! Help!" The line cut out.

"Why didn't she call the police?" Hank groaned. "Okay Jack, we've got a new destination, and we have to get there fast! Up for it?"

"Yes!" Jack buzzed excitedly through the helmet. "Go go go!"

"That's the attitude I like to hear," Ant-Man said. Jack took off as fast as he could, Pym sending him signals telling him where to go. It wasn't as fast as Hank would've liked, but within minutes, he and Jack were at the van Dyne's apartment. Hank and Jack slipped under the window sill. Hank looked around, trying to gauge the situation. He could hear voices in the living room.

"I'm telling you, she's here," one of them said.

"Then why can't we find her?" The other asked. Pym narrowed his eyes. Starr.

"She's good! I'm saying we need to really sweep this place!"

"And I'm saying we need to look elsewhere," Starr said. "We took out the old man, so even if we can't get her tonight, it won't be a total loss."

Hank reeled. Vernon van Dyne was dead? He had to find Jan quick. He was in her room, but was that where she was most likely to hide? Hank racked his brain, trying to think like Jan. A soft bump jogged Hank's memory. Jan had once told him of an attic space that they didn't use where Jan used to go when she needed to be alone. That had to have been where the bump had come from. Jan was hiding in her attic! Hank directed Jack to an air vent in the ceiling and began his trek through the air duct. The light was not good, but Hank could tell that the third opening he came across opened up to a room too spacious to be anything but the attic. He and Jack slipped through the vent and flew around the attic.

Jan was crouched in a corner, listening for signs that Starr and his accomplice were gone.

"Jan," he whispered. Jan jumped but remembered not to scream. "Jan, it's me! Hank! I'm right in front of you!"

"Where?" Jan whispered, terrified.

"Look closely. I'm very _very_ tiny."

Jan almost screamed again when she saw her boyfriend riding an ant.

"Hank what happened?" she asked.

"Starr helped me with a little test run," Hank said darkly. "Good thing is, it's reversible." Hank jumped off of Jack and landed on the attic floor before growing to his normal size. "Other good news is that the particles seem to have bonded to my bloodstream, letting me change size at will."

"You've got superpowers?" Jan asked. "That's awesome!"

"Yeah, but we don't have time to worry about that," Hank said. "I can't fight them now. We have to call the police, which you should have done before calling me by the way, and get out of here safely."

Hank held out another vial of Pym Particles to Jan. She eyed it cautiously.

"That thing'll give me powers too?" Jan asked nervously. "There's no going back after it?"

"If you can think of a better way, I'm all for it," Hank said. "And to be honest, I don't know if it's completely permanent."

Jan sighed.

"Okay then, bottoms up!" She took the vial and downed it, gagging at the taste.

"You didn't have to drink it, you know," Hank said as he started spattering some more on her clothes. "It can be absorbed through the lungs or skin."

"Now you tell me," Jan said as she began shrinking. Thanks to Hank's quick thinking, her clothes were shrinking with her too. She stabilized at a height proportional to the one she normally stood at in comparison to Hank. Jan looked around in awe at how different her world looked at the size of a bug.

"So, what's with the helmet?" she asked.

"Oh, that's what Starr and I were working on. It's a helmet that lets me communicate with ants!" Hank said excitedly. Jan made a face.

"Why would you want to?" she asked.

"Well now I can say because they're great rides," Hank grinned. Sure enough, Jack hovered down and landed in front of the two. "Jan, this is Jack. He's my pimpin' ride."

Jan couldn't help herself. She doubled over laughing at the incredibly lame joke.

"Wow," she said clutching her stomach. "That was dumb even by your standards," she gasped.

"Yeah yeah, are you getting on or what?" Hank asked as he mounted Jack.

"I'm coming," Jan said. "But you know, if I'm going to have superpowers, couldn't flight at least be one?"

"Huh. There may be something to that," Hank said as he helped Jan up. With a signal, Jack was off, back to the outside world.

Looking below, Hank could see that Starr and his friend were leaving the building.

"It's probably still not safe to go back in," he said. "We're going to get to the police station and-"

"Wait a second," Jan said. "How are we going to prove any of it?"

"What do you mean?" Hank asked. "Our testimonies-"

"Are flimsy," Jan said. "Plus, if we have superpowers, how cool would it be to be superheroes?"

"Well I did kinda name myself Ant-Man already," Hank said blushing a little.

"I get to be your sidekick!" Jan said cheerfully. "I've gotta have a cool name too! Something epic like...the Wasp!"

"Ant-Man and the Wasp," Hank said. "Not too shabby. Okay, so we keep it a secret. Now what?"

"Now we go superhero on Starr's ass and avenge my dad!" Jan said.

"That'll take time," Hank said. "We need a plan." He returned to normal size and removed his helmet. Jan followed suit and planted a kiss on his lips.

"It's okay. We'll figure it out. We still report the murder, but we leave out the size-changing, talking-to-ants, superhero stuff."

"Okay," Hank said. "We'll try it your way. Let's just hope that it works."

* * *

><p><em><strong>Part 2: The Lonely Man<strong>_

The beating of its heart was the only thing it could hear. It knew not fatigue as it ran and ran and ran. It leaped, soaring high into the sky, crashing down far from where it had started. Rage still dominated its heart, but it wasn't sure why. Confusion began to overwhelm the creature. It began slowing down as the sky began to pour down rain.

In its mind, the creature tried to keep up with what it had experienced. Thrust into the world, all he'd known in his brief time was chaos. Suddenly, it was calm, and it confused him.

He kept walking, not knowing what he was doing or where he was going. Tall, thick, rigid things surrounded him. Those that got in his way he pushed over. Soon, he came to something else he could not understand.

It was like a block of color breaking up the foggy monotony of the rain. And right outside it was a small figure, not entirely unlike the creature. It was a different color from the block, and it was moving unlike the block. It was jumping into little pools of the water that had come from the sky.

Curious, the creature moved toward it. The other creature looked up at him, just as curious as he was. It held out a tiny hand as if to touch the creature. The creature stared down and slowly reached his own hand out. Suddenly, a shriek of terror broke the moment, and a loud noise pierced the air. The smaller creature was crying in fear as another larger creature began shouting. The shouting made the creature angry. Within an instant, all was a blur again with the young child's crying filling the brain of the creature.

* * *

><p>Fire sirens sounded loud and clear as the trucks pulled up to the burning house. The rain was keeping the fire from spreading, but unless the firefighters worked fast, a gas burner was liable to explode. A family of three lived in the house, all were severely injured.<p>

It didn't add up to the young firefighter. Their injuries looked nothing like something that would be sustained by a fire. Gashes and bruises covered all three bodies. The worst off of them was the father, the best (relatively speaking) the young girl thankfully.

"What happened?" He asked the girl gently.

"A big thing came from the forest," the girl coughed. "Daddy shot at it and it got mad."

"What was it?" The firefighter asked the father. The father, barely hanging on shook his head in disbelief.

"It was incredible, it was some kind of...hulk."

* * *

><p>Bruce Banner woke with a start. He tried desperately to remember where he was, and why on earth he was half-naked. He shivered, partly from said half-nakedness and partly from the rain. He put a hand to his head to try and ease the headache he was suffering from. Had he been at a party? No, that didn't make sense, he never went to parties, much less ones where he ran the risk of being roofied.<p>

Banner stumbled to his feet and took in his surroundings. He was in an alley in what appeared to be a small Midwestern town. Shaking in fright and chill, he stumbled out of the alley and into the nearest drug store, holding his pants (which had mysteriously become too big) up.

"I need help," Banner said to the nearest employee. "I have no idea where I am or how I got here." The employee scrambled to help Bruce stand.

"Whoa man," the young man, whose name tag proclaimed him "Rick" said. "Take it easy. You're in Upland, Indiana. Hey, Marlo! C'mere and help!"

"Upland?" Bruce asked as a girl about Rick's age ran over to help him. "That's impossible, last thing I remember I was in Virginia!"

"I'm telling you, you're in Indiana," Rick said. "You sure you were in Virginia?"

"Culver University, of course I'm sure," Bruce said irritably.

"Alright, no need to get mad," Marlo said. "I'll call the police, and they'll help you figure out what went wrong. Rick, do you have any spare clothes in the break room?"

"I may have a shirt that'll fit him, but I dunno about pants," Rick said.

"Well, we'll have to make do with something here," Marlo said. "Get him that shirt, I'll be right back."

"Thank you," Bruce said.

"No problem," Rick said. "Rick Jones. The chick is Marlo Chandler. So who am I helping out here?"

"Banner," Bruce said. "Dr. Bruce Banner."

"Okay Dr. Banner, follow me," Rick said. Bruce and Rick walked to the back of the store and went through a door marked "Employees Only." It was the storeroom, and off to the left was another door that Bruce assumed was the break room. Sure enough, it was furnished with a TV that looked roughly fifteen years old, tuned to a Spanish soap opera, a soda machine, a table, two chairs, and lockers.

"Best I've got is this t-shirt," Rick said apologetically as he tossed said t-shirt to Bruce.

"Doesn't matter, it's really kind of you," Bruce mumbled as he pulled it over his head.

"So what's the last thing you remember?" Rick asked as he got a soda from the machine and handed it to Bruce.

"I'm not sure," Bruce said. "My sense of chronology is a little goofed up. I think I was running an experiment...something important at the University."

"Any idea when this was?" Rick asked.

"I don't even know what day it is now," Bruce pointed out. Before Rick could help Bruce out there, Marlo entered the break room.

"Hope you like purple, Doc," she said holding up a pair of stretchy purple pants. "This is the best we've got."

"It'll do for now," Bruce said grudgingly. Marlo turned around to give Bruce some privacy while he pulled the pants on.

"The police are on their way," Marlo said. "They'll help you out in no time."

"No they won't," a voice familiar to Bruce said angrily. General Thaddeus Ross was standing in the break room flanked by two officers and three soldiers.

"I finally found you, Banner," Ross said hatefully. "You're coming with me."

"General? What happened? Where's Betty?"

"My daughter's not seeing you ever again you monster," Ross spat. "Not after what you did."

"What did I do?" Bruce asked. "You're not making any sense!"

"Oh sure, play the amnesia card," Ross said. "That'll be a great way to deal with your conscience."

"I'm telling the truth! I don't remember anything! Just...anger." Bruce said.

"I don't give a damn if you remember every moment of your miserable life," Ross said. "You're coming with us Banner."

"Hey! Leave the poor guy alone, alright?" Rick said. "He's obviously been through some rough stuff, and you're not making it any better."

"Oh believe me son, I know _exactly_ what he's been through," Ross said, rounding on Rick. "And if you don't butt out and show some respect to a decorated general, I'll have you under arrest!"

That shut Rick up, but it didn't stop him from glaring at Ross and the other army men.

"Enough of this," Bruce said. "I'll go with you, if only to find out what happened."

"Oh trust me," Ross said. "You'll find out whether you like it or not."

With a certain roughness, Banner was turned around and handcuffed. Rick and Marlo watched helplessly as the army marched Banner out of the drug store.

"You're following them aren't you," Marlo said.

"Yep."

* * *

><p>Betty Ross lay in a hospital bed, unconscious. Bruises and cuts covered her body, and even connected to life support, her breathing was labored.<p>

"You're saying I did this to her?" Bruce asked the General. They were standing in her room, back in Virginia.

"Not you Banner," Ross said. "What's inside you. What you unleashed that day."

"I'm so so sorry," Bruce said as tears welled up. "General, I hope you know how much I love your daughter. I could never..."

"You have nothing to apologize for," Ross said coldly. "Quite the opposite. What I want you to do now is to make it happen again."

"Again?" Bruce asked aghast. "Are you crazy?"

"Don't push me," Ross said, jabbing a warning finger into Banner's chest. "You'll do it, or I'll place you under arrest and find somebody who will."

Banner's breathing grew rapid. The prospects of what he would be forced to do were working their way through his mind. He'd wanted to help save lives, not take them!

"Man up, Banner," Ross said. "It's time to do something worthwhile in your life. Make me happy now, and maybe I'll take back what I said about Betty never seeing you again. Come on Banner, you can still do that mamby pamby experiment you wanted to do to cure cancer, it just won't happen until you get me a perfect soldier."

"That thing won't make a perfect soldier," Bruce said.

"We'll see," Ross challenged.

A doctor entered the room and attended to Betty.

"We're done here," Ross said. "Let's get you back to what's left of your lab."

"Who else knows about this?" Bruce asked.

"Just me, Betty if she remembers, and my team," Ross said. "I'm keen to keep this as low-profile as possible. You are now our greatest military secret. It'll blow that asswipe Stark out of the water."

Ross continued talking on nonstop about what a wonderful thing this was all through the drive back to Culver University.

"I want a sample of your blood first," Ross said. "We'll have some of my boys look at it too."

Bruce made no objection. He was trying to come up with a plan. The lab was still totally trashed. Bruce wondered what kind of monster he'd become that had made such short work of his lab. Ross's team was already there, plus a few doctors and scientists who were presumably also military.

"Dr. Banner, I'm Dr. Samuel Sterns," one of the scientists said. He was thin and reedy looking with a pencil thin mustache adorning his lips. "I'm intrigued by the possibilities of your work."

"So is the general," Banner said flatly.

"You don't understand," Sterns said. "I think it could save my life!" Bruce was suddenly more interested.

"How do you mean?"

"I have an inoperable brain tumor," Sterns said. "It's only a matter of time before it begins interfering with my brain functions. But with your gamma treatment, I could live!"

"General," Banner said. "If you want soldiers, you're going to have to be able to control them. This... this Hulk thing, you won't be able to control that."

"Your point?" Ross asked, bored.

"My point is let me see if I can help this man, and get you what you want in a way that can be controlled," Bruce proposed. Ross shook his head in frustration.

"You are a piece of work, you know that?" Ross said. "Fine, play doctor for a while. But I want that super-soldier as soon as possible!"

Banner ignored the general and got right to work with Sterns.

"God bless you, Banner," Sterns said.

"Hey I took an oath," Banner said. "I'm a doctor first and foremost. Let's run some scans on that brain of yours."

Over the next few hours, Bruce and Sterns went through every conceivable cancer scan. The results were not promising for Sterns.

"It's growing pretty fast," Banner said grimly. "We have to move fast. Too fast."

"What are you saying?" Sterns asked in horror. "Are you saying I don't have enough time?"

"No, not you. It's me who doesn't have enough time. Sterns, take a sample of my blood," Banner said as he readied a needle. "I trust you to carry on my work. But not the general, or even myself when it comes down to it."

Sterns made to object, but Banner silenced him.

"He wants it as a weapon, not a lifeline," Banner said. "I'm running. He'll chase me, I know it. But cure yourself, and then see if you can cure me."

"I understand," Sterns said after a while. "I'll do it."

"Good," Bruce said. "The general's preoccupied with something else, I'm slipping out now. Good luck."

"You're the one who needs all the luck," Sterns said, clasping Bruce's hand. "Now go!"

Bruce snuck out of his lab and made his way down the hallway. It looked as if he'd get away!

"Banner!"

Looked being the key word there.

"First off, where do you think you're going?" It was Ross, and Banner was surprised to see Rick with him. "Secondly, we found your little friend stowed away. If you've told him anything Banner, I've got half a mind to shoot him right here!"

"Whoa man, he didn't tell me anything!" Rick protested, struggling to get free.

"Let him go Ross," Bruce said. "He's done nothing."

"If you say so," Ross said. "You on the other hand, are not to leave. If you do, I'll see to it that your friend takes your punishment for you."

"Ross," Bruce pleaded. "Please don't make me angry, you wouldn't like me when I'm angry."

"I don't like you either way!" Ross said. "Now I'm giving you to the count of three to get back in the lab, or I shoot him!"

That was it.

"One," Ross said. Bruce's breathing sped up. He felt suddenly aware of every cell in his body exploding with energy.

"Two." Bruce struggled to keep his composure. But it was no good. He couldn't move either way.

"Three." Ross said. He got out his gun, but before he could shoot, he saw the change taking place in Banner again.

"Oh hell," he muttered. Rick's jaw had dropped open as he saw the meek doctor's body getting larger and growing more muscled as it turned a grayish green. Banner cried out in pain, his voice growing deeper and more animalistic. Finally where Banner had stood, was a hulking beast.

"Banner, are you in there?" Ross called hopefully. "I'm not shooting him if that makes you feel better, Hulk!"

"Banner?" It was Ross's turn to be stunned. "HULK HATE PUNY BANNER!"

"This is nuts man," Rick said. He'd collapsed to the ground in shock. "What are you? Don't hurt me!"

The Hulk looked confused. It gazed at Rick, then turned its attention to Ross.

"Rick Hulk's friend. Now leave me alone!"

"Fat chance," Ross said as he drew his gun and fired at the Hulk. The shell bounced off the back of the Hulk's head, not even leaving a scratch.

"RAAAAAAAARGH! HULK SMASH!" Hulk screamed. He lifted his fists up and pounded the floor, sending a shockwave through the linoleum tiles that sent Ross flying. Hulk picked up a sofa from the hall and threw it in Ross's direction, missing him by inches.

"Hulk! Stop!" Rick shouted. "Don't do this!"

"Rick friend," Hulk said. "Rick get hurt if Hulk don't smash."

"Naw man, it doesn't have to be that way," Rick said. "I'll be fine. Trust me." Hulk was still mad, but he dropped his fists.

"Hulk trust Rick. Hulk has to go. Be safe friend." Ross tried to get up, but couldn't.

"Leave me alone!" Hulk repeated. And with those final words, he jumped into the air, and right through the roof. More people were pouring out of the rooms of the building to see what all the fuss was about. Rick watched as the Hulk continued gaining altitude in his jump before moving out of sight of the hole in the roof.

"Don't think you're in the clear," Ross said. "I'm still going to take care of you sometime soon. Hulk or no Hulk, you are now the holder of a military secret, and if you breathe a word of it to anyone, I'll have you in for treason."

Rick made no response. He knew he had to follow the Hulk and try to help Banner hide from this maniac.

* * *

><p>Banner woke in a forest this time. He knew what had happened, but he still couldn't believe it. The garish purple pants were still intact thankfully, and were still fitting him. The shirt he'd borrowed from Rick was completely gone though. He could hear cars nearby, so he made his way toward the direction of the road. Sticking out his thumb, Banner knew that this was going to be his life for a very long time: hitchhiking, hiding, and living as a very lonely man for fear of unleashing the incredible power inside him.<p>

* * *

><p>Author's Notes: Wow, this was another one that took me a while! Funny thing is, ultimately most of the chapter was written today! Odd how that works out. Note on formatting: as you've noticed, the past chapters have been anthology titles. Hulk debuted in his own series, but after it was cancelled, he shared Tales to Astonish with Ant-Man. So I thought I'd pay homage to that in this split chapter. I actually cut the Ant-Man segment off earlier than I intended, but I think what I have in store works better as a separate chapter. On that note, in the spirit of the Avengers movie coming out this week, I am going to try and put out a new chapter every day until then. School's out for me, so I can actually focus on this for a while, and I have some good chunks of future chapters already written. So here's hoping tomorrow holds more! As always, read and review!<p>

EDIT: I didn't realize until it was too late that I used the classic "please don't make me angry" line twice. I thought I got rid of the first one, but that was just in my head, so I made sure I got rid of it this time.


	5. Invincible

**MisterDrBob presents: The Avengers**

Summary: And there came a day, a day unlike any other, when Earth's mightiest heroes found themselves united against a common threat. On that day, the Avengers were born — to fight foes no single hero could withstand! Through the years, their roster has prospered, changing many times, but their glory has never been denied! Heed the call, then — for now, Avengers Assemble!

Disclaimer: All characters belong to Marvel and Disney

Chapter 5: Invincible

Tony Stark had shut himself up in his basement for two weeks straight. Pepper couldn't fathom how he was surviving, because he'd been refusing all food while she was awake. She'd even tried pulling an all-nighter to catch him getting food and force him to sleep, but he'd somehow outwitted her then too.

Pepper was currently in bed, in the room she used at Tony's house when she needed to be near Tony 24/7. She was having trouble sleeping thanks to Tony's music blaring from the basement.

"Jarvis! Tell Tony to turn that racket down!" She called. No response. Tony had shut off Pepper's access to the AI he'd modeled after the family's late butler Edwin Jarvis. She moaned and shoved a pillow over her head, which was sadly ineffective. Fed up, Pepper stood up, stormed out of her room and down into the basement.

"Hey! Nononononono no no no!" Tony had seen her come in and in two seconds was at the door, shoving Pepper back up the stairs. "This is my man-cave! Out! No Girls Allowed!"

"Tony, it is four in the morning!" Pepper said, fury amplified by the hour. "GET. SLEEP."

"I did, like five hours ago."

"Sleep at a normal time," Pepper commanded. "You're not doing yourself any favors by shutting yourself down here. The board is talking about replacing you temporarily or permanently. They aren't really picky."

"Let 'em talk," Tony scoffed. Pepper had stopped struggling, so Tony took his hands off her shoulders. This was just what she'd been waiting for. She pushed Tony aside and stormed into the basement.

"Tony, what is so goddamn important you have to be working all hours of the...day...?"

Pepper had caught sight of the current state of Tony's workshop. Scraps of metal littered almost every inch of floor, and sitting on the table was what looked like a half-completed android.

"Pretty nifty, huh?" Tony asked.

"What is it?" Pepper asked. Tony picked up a few of the pieces of scrap and set them on the table.

"Pepper, meet Iron Man Mk I. Mk II is right over here," Tony said, patting the half-completed android on the shoulder.

"Iron Man?" Pepper asked. The piece of iron she held in her hand resembled a mask. Realization dawned on her. "Tony, is _that_ what you used to escape?"

"Yep," Tony said nonchalantly. "Still has some kinks though, hence Mk II." He returned to tinkering with what Pepper could now see was actually a sort of armor.

"And what are you going to do with Iron Man?" Pepper stammered. "I thought you said you were done making weapons!"

"I am," Tony said as he unscrewed something on the armor's back.

"So then what's that?" Pepper asked exasperatedly.

"A high-tech prosthesis," Tony said flippantly. "Seriously, this thing could have so many peaceful applications, it's not even funny."

"But that's not what you're using it for," Pepper said perceptively.

"Not yet," Tony acknowledged. "First, I'm going to hunt down my weapons, and then I'm going to destroy them."

"You're going to _what now_?" Pepper asked.

"Destroy my weapons," Tony said plainly. "I've got to put a stop to the damage I've done."

"Tony, you're a businessman!" Pepper said, "You're not responsible for what your buyers do with your weapons!"

"Aren't I?" Tony shot back. "Of all the ways to use my brain and my resources, there's got to be a better one than making things to kill."

"Okay," Pepper breathed. This was just another stupid phase for Tony, like a toddler. "Ok, Tony listen, you can't just destroy something that isn't yours any more."

"What do you propose then?" Tony asked, starting to get frustrated. Pepper suddenly felt on the spot. Quickly as her sleep-deprived mind would allow her, she gathered her addled thoughts into a rational conclusion.

"Try buying them back," she suggested. "See who will surrender them willingly."

"And if that doesn't work?" Tony grinned. Pepper knew there was no way out of this one.

"Then Iron Man has his work cut out for him," Pepper sighed. "But for now, Tony Stark needs to sleep."

"Five more minutes," Tony said.

"Uh-uh, I'm not falling for that," Pepper said. "I'm not your mom Tony, but I can't let you stay up this late blaring music." And dragging Tony by the wrist, Pepper returned to the first floor.

* * *

><p>It was 2:00 p.m., and Pepper awoke to nothing.<p>

Something was seriously wrong. She bolted out of bed and rushed down to the basement. Tony wasn't there. Pepper was about to leave and look for Tony when she noticed someone else wasn't there either: Iron Man Mk II.

* * *

><p>"JARVIS, how're we doing?" Tony asked the AI as he soared through the air in the Mk II armor. Slightly more streamlined than the Mk I, the Mk II's improvements mainly laid in covering exposed parts and improved arc reactor efficiency.<p>

"All things considered sir, well," JARVIS said dryly. "Quite frankly I'm amazed at your luck so far. You've never flown before, least of all in a suit of armor, or much less landed successfully."

"Ah details," Tony said flippantly. "The power core holding?"

"Yes sir, still at 99%." JARVIS reported. "I should warn you though the miniature arc reactor may not be optimized for sustained flight, and a severe drop in energy could occur."

"Keep me posted," Tony said as he focused his sight forward.

Clouds whizzed by and the air whistled around the flying armor. The armor had been in the air for two hours, and Tony was almost all the way across the Pacific. Another hour and he'd be right back where he'd started as Iron Man.

"Detecting a large number of Stark registered weaponry," JARVIS announced some time later. Puzzled, Tony opened his GPS screen. He was somewhere over China now. That had to mean that the Mandarin had some of his weapons still. But he couldn't worry about that, he had to take care of first things first.

"We'll hit 'em on the way back," Tony said. "Are we there yet, dad?"

"We are nearing our destination," JARVIS said dryly.

"Great," Tony said. "Let's rock n' roll!" The armor began decreasing its altitude. Tony's love of mathematics went wild as he engineered a beautiful parabolic descent right into the territory of the Ten Rings.

The entrance was as dramatic as one could have hoped for. Screams of terror and surprise filled Tony's ears, filtered through his helmet. He recognized some of his surviving captors, and it was clear they'd been telling stories about his escape.

But killing people wasn't what he was concerned with. Not anymore. Ignoring the bullets bouncing off his armor, Tony looked around and picked out some deposits of Stark Industries weapons.

Repulsors were a funny thing. Tony had invented them looking for a way to cut down on petroleum used as fuel, and it had done just that. But they also were extremely dangerous at close range. Iron Man raised his arms and fired a repulsor blast at one stack of missiles. It exploded gloriously, sending the stragglers who had been trying to shoot at Iron Man running.

"Jackpot," Tony said to himself as he continued firing repulsors at every last one of his death machines. Within minutes, the entire camp was on fire, and Iron Man was flying to the next nearest deposit.

* * *

><p>"JARVIS, where's the next one?" Tony asked.<p>

"No other Stark registered weapons are in this area," JARVIS said. "Very thorough work, sir."

"Why thank you," Tony grinned. "All in a day's work."

"What will you do next sir?"

Tony thought for a minute.

"I'd love to take on the Mandarin and whatever he's got," Tony said. "But I don't know if my energy reserves would last that long."

"Indeed sir, power levels are only at 56%. I would recommend you get home right away and recharge.

"Let's do it," Tony agreed as he took off into the sky.

* * *

><p>It was late at night when Tony got back home. Pepper was waiting on the roof for him, looking frustrated. Tony wondered how she'd known he would be coming through the roof.<p>

"Where the hell have you been?" Pepper asked.

"Doing my job," Tony said, flipping open the faceplate of his helmet. "Cleared out the entire area that I'd been held captive in."

"Tony, I thought we agreed you'd try and buy them back first!" Pepper said.

"We did," Tony said. "From the people who will sell them back. People like those though, they'll never give them back."

Pepper's mouth dropped open. It was rare that she left loopholes that big in her agreements with Tony.

"Now if you'll excuse me," Tony said. "I've had a long day of avenging my legacy. I'm gonna hit the hay."

Pepper gaped as Tony opened the skylight to his garage/workshop and hovered down. She considered calling Rhodey for a moment, but decided against it. For all she knew, Rhodey would side with Tony and start begging him to make a suit for him too. And Happy didn't seem like the kind of guy to tell these things to secondhand. As if to answer her question, Pepper felt a hand on her shoulder. She jumped and shrieked a little in surprise.

"Hey, calm down Ms. Potts. I'm here to help."

* * *

><p>Tony trudged up the stairs to his bedroom dog tired. He was looking forward to a bed instead of a workbench for a change. His mood was shattered when he saw who was waiting for him at the top of his stairs.<p>

"Fury," Tony growled. "What are you doing here?"

"Your girl let me in," Nick Fury grinned. "Nice to see you too Tony." The director of S.H.I.E.L.D. had changed little since Tony had last seen him. Still had the same grizzled mug, same eyepatch, same graying at the temples. He stood up from the hall chair he'd been sitting in and extended his hand. Tony ignored it and leered at him.

"If this is about weapons..."

"It's about what you're doing to them," Fury interrupted.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Tony said.

"Oh come off it," Fury said, insulted. "Did you really think we wouldn't notice an entire sector cleared of your weapons, let alone the sector you were held in? Did you really think we wouldn't hear the rumors and chatter from guys like that that a man made of iron had broken out? It wasn't hard to put two and two together Tony."

"I'm still not getting what you want out of this," Tony said. "You can't stop me."

"I'm not trying to!" Fury said. "I can't officially help you, but I dropped by to give you an idea."

"Join S.H.I.E.L.D., yeah, heard it all before," Tony yawned.

"Joining S.H.I.E.L.D. is only part of it," Fury said. "In case you haven't noticed, some pretty remarkable people are cropping up all over the place. You don't have to do this job alone Tony. We can put you on a team. A team that'll do some real good!"

"A S.H.I.E.L.D. based team of superhumans?" Tony asked. "Some kind of league for great justice, right? That's the stupidest thing I've ever heard."

"Is it now?" Fury asked darkly.

"Pretty much," Tony said. "Where would this team come from? America? How would the rest of the world react to a team of superhumans defending the world all from one country?"

"That's not-" Fury started.

"Put together a team like that, and it'll open up a new arena for escalation," Tony said. "If S.H.I.E.L.D. puts together a team to protect American interests, and soon enough the E.U. will have one of their own, then China, Japan, or even guys like the Ten Rings. You do this and you ask for a new kind of war. And I'm not having any of it. So. Get. Out." With finality, Tony pointed towards the front door.

"Fine," Fury said, "But don't think you're quite off the hook yet, _Iron Man_. One of these days, you're going to need us. And don't think I'll be afraid to say 'I told you so.'" Fury turned around and stormed out of Tony's house. Pepper turned around the corner looking sheepish. She'd clearly been listening.

"Never let him in without telling me again," Tony said angrily. Pepper cringed. It was rare that Tony got really mad at her, and this was one of those times.

"Sorry," Pepper said meekly. "I just didn't know who else to turn to."

"You _asked_ him to come here?" Tony asked, rounding on her.

"No!" Pepper said defensively. "He came on his own, but when I saw him I thought it might be good to hear what he has to say!"

"When does Nick Fury ever have anything good to say?" Tony asked. "He's always got some kind of agenda."

"He's the head of a peacekeeping organization, having an agenda is his job description!" Pepper shot back.

"And my job description is to uphold my family's name!" Tony said.

"And doing all this as Iron Man is going to do that?" Pepper asked incredulously.

"Yes," Tony said determinedly. "I'm not going to let this company be mired down in corrupt business. I'm going to pull it out and make the Stark name honest again."

"Behind a mask," Pepper said.

"What are you getting at?" Tony asked.

"Tony, take a look at that thing," Pepper said. "It's frightening."

"That's the idea," Tony said. "I'm not going to coddle terrorists as I blow up their weapons."

"And scaring the crap out of them is going to help you redeem your family's name?"

Tony got it. Pepper was saying that if he was going to rely on fear to do his job, he wasn't upholding his family name, just associating it with the same things.

"What do you suggest?" He asked.

"Well, you could look the part of a golden boy..."

* * *

><p>"I am going on record as saying that this was not my idea," Tony said through his protective mask.<p>

"Oh shut up and be happy. This'll help people see that you're a hero!" Pepper said through hers as she and Tony applied gold paint to the Mk II. Tony had held out on Pepper's suggestion, but after three weeks and as many missions back to the Middle East, he was simply too tired to argue with her. And in a way, she had been right. Iron Man had been in the news a lot thanks to his missions, but as Pepper had pointed out, his appearance as a metal monster had people wondering whose side he was on.

"Why gold?" Tony asked.

"Well, it gives you a knight in shining armor vibe," Pepper said as she finished off the left arm. "That way, people will know you're out to protect them."

"Okay, I guess that makes sense, but why are you helping me?" Tony asked. "I thought you were against me doing this."

"I know a losing battle when I see it," Pepper sighed. "As much as I don't like it, you're my boss and I don't exactly have final say in what you do with your life. So if I can't stop you, I'm going to help you."

"Well thanks," Tony said as he finished the other arm. He stuck a finger briefly to the helmet to check if the paint had dried. It had, and now all that was left were the legs.

The work went quickly. In no time at all, the armor shone gold.

"See, doesn't that look neat?" Pepper asked.

"It's missing something," Tony said, "but I can't put my finger on it."

He was snapped out of his train of thought by his cell phone ringing. He looked at the caller ID and answered.

"Rhodey, what's up buddy?" Tony asked.

"Tony, there's something crazy going down at the factory," Rhodey said quickly. "Some guy in a suit like yours is wrecking the place!"

"What?" Tony said, jumping to his feet.

"I dunno man, he's mad though, and you may be the only one who can stop him!"

"I'm on my way!" Tony said. He threw his phone onto the table and hastily began donning his armor.

"What's up?" Pepper asked, handing him his helmet.

"Some maniac's trashing the factory," Tony said. "I'm going to stop him."

"But-" Pepper couldn't voice her question as Tony had taken off already, repulsors flaring.

* * *

><p>"That's what I'm missing! I need red on this thing!" Tony said to himself. He'd arrived at Stark Industries and was assessing the situation.<p>

As Rhodey had said, someone wearing a suit similar to Iron Man's, only colored some shade of red, was wreaking havoc on the facility. What was especially distressing was that he seemed to have a miniaturized arc reactor powering his armor as well.

That was impossible though! Nobody else could make something as big and inefficient as the arc reactor that small! Determined to get answers, Iron Man fired up his repulsors again and flew over to the intruder.

"I'm going to have to ask you to stand down, and surrender that arc reactor!" Iron Man said authoritatively. The other armored man balled his hands into fists.

"Iron Man!" He said, voice weighed down by a heavy Russian accent. "Finally you have arrived! You are but the latest in a long line of insults the Stark family has hurled my way! Now I, the Crimson Dynamo, will take back what is mine!"

"You sure it's not mine? Because I'm pretty sure I came up with the whole suit idea first, especially that whole miniaturized arc reactor thing," Iron Man said as he fired a repulsor at the Dynamo. The Crimson Dynamo reeled back a bit from the blast, but on the whole was unharmed. In fact, the repulsor seemed to do more good than harm, as the Dynamo shot right back with a repulsor stronger than anything Iron Man had. Iron Man winced as he leaped out of the way, narrowly missing the repulsor.

"The technology of your suit is mine!" the Dynamo yelled. "Stolen from me by Howard Stark!" He lumbered forward and aimed a punch at Iron Man. Iron Man ducked, but was caught by a reflexive kick from the Crimson Dynamo. Ignoring the pain in his side, Iron Man stood up and tried tackling the Dynamo. He was heavy, but Iron Man managed to lift him off the ground and toss him.

The Crimson Dynamo fell with a heavy thud, but got right back up and lobbed another punch at Iron Man. This one connected and sent the golden figure sprawling. In midair however, Iron Man activated his boot repulsors and charged the Dynamo in midair, only to receive a nasty shock as the Dynamo had sent a current through his armor.

"Pitiful," the Dynamo said as he shot a bolt of electricity at Iron Man. "Proof that the technology of Stark Industries is truly mine!"

"And who are you anyway?" Iron Man coughed as he got to his feet.

"My name is Anton Vanko!" the Crimson Dynamo said. "And I designed the arc reactor!"

"Vanko?" Iron Man said. "That name sounds familiar."

The Crimson Dynamo charged, not listening to his enemy's musing. He alternated between sending electrical jolts and repulsors at Iron Man, all missing. It was clear that Vanko hadn't had much practice operating his armor. Iron Man backpedaled, trying to come up with a plan to stop the Crimson Dynamo. In a moment of inspiration, he fired up his repulsors and gave the Dynamo a repulsor powered flash kick. The Dynamo stumbled, allowing Iron Man a window of oppurtinity. He unleashed a series of devastating punches, followed by a repulsor to each knee. The Crimson Dynamo collapsed to the ground, immobile. Iron Man plunged his fingers into the Dynamo's chest and tore out the arc reactor, studying it carefully.

It seemed to be the genuine article, but it had a different design sensibility. Iron Man reached down and tore off the Dynamo's featureless helmet. Inside was the face of an old man, hair long gone save a mustache that was quickly growing grey.

"Anton Vanko?" Iron Man asked. "I remember your name. You worked here for Howard Stark in the 1960s, didn't you?"

"Da," Vanko coughed. "Howard was my friend, or so I thought. He couldn't handle the genius of my arc reactor, and so he had me deported!"

"I'm sure there's some truth to that," Iron Man said, "But I think it had more to do with the fact that you were a former Soviet. Howard Stark was fairly paranoid. He probably thought you were going to sell it to the Kremlin."

"But I was not!" Vanko raged. "I wanted the same thing as he! A better future for our sons!"

"Your sons?" Tony asked.

"We didn't have children at the time," Vanko elaborated. "But Howard knew his wife wanted at least one, and I too had been longing for a son with my wife. But because of what happened, my Ivan and his Tony were never the great friends we hoped they'd be. And to think that that no-good Stane believed him! That, more than any piece of technology was what stung me."

"Obadiah Stane?" Iron Man asked. He'd known that Stane had been friends with Howard Stark, but was there a deeper story there?

"He poisoned Howard against me," Vanko said. "I had hoped to get revenge on him and Tony Stark."

"Stane doesn't work here anymore," Iron Man said bluntly.

"But you do?" Vanko asked impressed.

"Y...yes," Iron Man said after some hesitation. "I'm Tony Stark's bodyguard."

"That explains a lot," Vanko coughed. "Stark designed that suit, didn't he?"

"I helped a little," Iron Man said. "But I have to say, I think he'd be impressed with what you can do. And more importantly, I think he owes you an apology."

The police had arrived and were swarming the area. Iron Man held out his hands to show he meant no harm.

"I'm Iron Man, if you didn't already know," he announced. "And I'm Mr. Stark's new head of security. This man has some important information for Mr. Stark, and I do not believe he will be pressing any charges."

The officers nodded and began damage control. Iron Man extended a hand to Vanko, who took it after a moment of hesitation. Iron Man pulled, and the Dynamo was back on his feet.

"Come on, I'll help you get out of that suit, and then I'll get you a meeting with Stark," Iron Man said. He studied Vanko's face. There was a strange mixture of relief, happiness, and fear on Vanko's face. Tony knew why; so many things would be put to rest today.

* * *

><p>Author's Note: Aha! Made it just in time! ...At the expense of cutting out an epilogue scene! But that's not important! Anyway, the Crimson Dynamo is one of my favorite Iron Man villains, and I wanted to pay particular homage to the original version. Now, to elaborate on my plan for the week: I actually don't have that much more material ready. I have a bit of the next chapter, but nothing from the next two. But if all goes well, I'll get them up, and then I can get back to X-Men, Fantastic Four, and Marvel Knights! Read and Review!<p> 


	6. Mighty

**MisterDrBob presents: The Avengers**

Summary: And there came a day, a day unlike any other, when Earth's mightiest heroes found themselves united against a common threat. On that day, the Avengers were born — to fight foes no single hero could withstand! Through the years, their roster has prospered, changing many times, but their glory has never been denied! Heed the call, then — for now, Avengers Assemble!

Disclaimer: All characters belong to Marvel and Disney

Chapter 6: Mighty

"You are one fast learner," Jane Foster said admiringly. Don Blake grinned from his position at the surgery table where he was stitching his latest patient back up.

"My father seems happy to give me the tools I need," he said.

Jane was impressed with how much Thor had also learned about modern language. He was passing off as a gifted surgeon almost perfectly. Nobody would have suspected just looking at him that just a few weeks ago he'd been an amnesiac patient in the very hospital he was now working in.

"Things are quiet," Jane observed.

"Yes, it worries me," Thor frowned.

"Why?" Jane asked. "I'd think that'd be a good thing."

"The Enchantress," Thor said. "She was behind the Executioner's attack. She must be planning revenge, and if she's taking her time to do so, it will be disastrous."

"Who is she anyway?" Jane asked.

"Amora the Enchantress," Thor said. "I'm ashamed to say that I once entertained the idea of being in love with her. But she has a heart as evil as she is beautiful."

"Hell hath no fury, eh?" Jane asked.

"Yes," Thor said. "It would seem Amora has found another to charm."

The discussion about Amora was put on hold as the work on the patient concluded. Over the next half-hour, Drs. Blake and Foster observed the patient and gave them the post-surgery talk. This ended with Jane scheduling a check-up in three weeks.

"Well, that's one way to pass time in a shift," Jane said.

"How many more patients do I have today?" Don asked. Jane looked at her clipboard.

"I know you want to get out there and do some good, but you've got another wing to go through and evaluate," Jane said. Don sighed but accepted the clipboard and set about his duties, limping down the corridor.

As Blake was coming through the wing's lobby, his attention was caught by a news report on television.

_"Reports are coming in that the S.H.I.E.L.D. Helicarrier is under attack!"_ The news anchor said. _"Witness accounts are sparse, but the few that have come to light say that the Helicarrier, which is currently floating over the Hudson Bay in New York City, is being assaulted by_ one man_. Who he is and what his motives are is completely unknown."_

Blake didn't stop to hear more. Moving as fast as he could with his bad leg, Don backtracked, hoping to find Jane.

"Where do you think you're going?"

Blake stopped. It was Calvin Zabo.

"I have to find Dr. Foster, it's an emergency!" Don said. He turned and kept moving; he didn't have time for little men like Zabo.

"I've got my eye on you Blake, there's something funny about you!" Zabo said. Don didn't listen and continued his search.

"Jane, there's trouble," Don said as soon as he'd found her. "I have to go."

"I'll try and cover for you," Jane said. "And please Thor, be careful!"

"Aye, verily," Don grinned as he struck his cane on the ground.

* * *

><p>In the glorious realm of Asgard, the sentencing of Skurge the Executioner was about to commence.<p>

"Skurge, you have betrayed the House of the All-Father, which once honored you as a great warrior and hero, and attacked a prince of Asgard," Odin announced to the assembly. "Do you deny these claims?"

"Nay," Skurge said, wrath in his voice.

"Then I, Odin All-Father, decree that you be banished to-"

Odin was interrupted as Skurge vanished in a plume of green smoke.

"Search the stronghold!" Odin raged. "Find the Executioner!"

"He can't have gotten far," said a warrior with a roguish air and impeccable mustache. "Fear not, All-Father, the Warriors Three will find him!"

"You talk too much, Fandral," said Volstagg the Voluminous, a great bear of a man with a bushy red beard, and a second member of the Warriors Three. "Now come, before Skurge gets away!"

"You mean before dinner gets cold," Fandral the Dashing shot back as he led the charge out of the hall. As always, Hogun the Grim stayed out of their petty spats.

The hall had cleared of warriors. None remained except for Loki. Cackling softly, he spun in place and vanished. Stepping out of the turn, Loki found himself in his chambers where Skurge the Executioner and Amora the Enchantress were waiting.

"Excellent work, my Enchantress," Loki said, applauding slowly. "Nobody suspects that either you or I had anything to do with Skurge's disappearance."

"My humblest apologies, my lord Loki," Skurge said, dropping to one knee. "I underestimated the thunderer. But it shall not happen again, especially since I have discovered a weakness in him."

"A weakness?" Loki's eyes lit up with malice. "Go on."

"His love for the humans will be his undoing," Skurge said. "In particular, he cares deeply for a female. I believe her name was Jane Foster."

"I see," Loki said, lips curling into a grin as an evil plan formulated in his mind. "This is too perfect..."

* * *

><p>The S.H.I.E.L.D. Helicarrier was a tribute to modern technology. Equal parts airship and aircraft carrier, and designed by Tony Stark, it served as a mobile headquarters for S.H.I.E.L.D. and its operatives.<p>

Aboard the Helicarrier, it was a state of turmoil. Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. ran around wildly, looking for orders, or trying to fulfill the ones they already had. Nobody was sure where the intruder was, but they would be ready for when he showed himself.

Nick Fury waited stoically in the Helicarrier's control room. He was a little disappointed in the state of panic everyone was in.

"Come on people, it's just one man, we can handle him," Fury said. "Let's not lose our heads." Immediately after saying this, Fury ducked, dodging a bullet.

Fury turned around, gun drawn to see two agents already rushing the intruder. He was of Indian origin, lithe in build, and clad in leather. Moving almost faster than the eye could see, the intruder threw himself on the ground in a baseball-style slide and knocked each agent off their feet. Fury fired, only for the mysterious assassin to dodge and leap into the air, landing directly in front of Fury.

"Fury," the man said in a hateful hiss. "HYDRA sends their regards."

"They've been sending them for over sixty years, pal," Fury said. "I ain't takin'." Fury tried to grab the assassin, but he was too fast and had soon grabbed Fury instead. Fury grunted as his back hit the floor of the Helicarrier.

"They insist," the man said. He took out a knife and struck, but Fury rolled out of the way and kicked the man in the back.

The assassin took this attack in stride however and flipped in the air so he landed on his feet, prepared to make another attempt. Punch was met with block, kick was deflected, but in the end, Fury was overpowered again.

"Enough of this!" the man hissed. "Time to die, Fury!"

Just then, there was a mighty crash as Thor charged through the glass front of the Helicarrier. Shards went flying as Thor flew in and lobbed his hammer.

"I say thee, nay!"

The assassin found himself in a world of pain two seconds later, flying away from Fury courtesy of Mjollnir. Floating above the floor, Thor held out his hand and caught the returning hammer.

"I coulda taken him," Fury grumbled.

"Aye, verily," Thor said disbelievingly. "I shall leave then."

"I didn't say to leave," Fury grumbled. "I have to say, I didn't expect to see you here. Long way from your neck of the woods."

"My duty knows no bounds in all the Nine Realms," Thor said. The assassin had gotten to his feet and was rushing at Fury again. Thor landed and intercepted him.

"Do not stand between the Cobra and his prey!" the man hissed. He drew his gun and fired three rounds at Thor. Thor deflected the first two with Mjollnir, but was hit with the third. It bounded off of him, crumpled to a tiny ball of scrap metal.

"I am unintimidated," Thor said. "I have sworn allegiance to Nicholas Fury, thou villain. If thou woulds't attack him, you run the risk of facing my wrath."

"I am also unintimidated," the Cobra spat as he threw his gun away. "You may be strong, but my speed will outwit you!" True to his word, the Cobra sprinted to Thor, closing the distance in a matter of seconds. He punched quickly at Thor's chin, and before Thor could retaliate, he was behind him, kicking him across the back of the head.

Thor stumbled and winced in pain. Taking advantage of his loss of concentration, the Cobra attacked Thor's elbows.

Yelling in pain, Thor dropped Mjollnir.

The Cobra wasted no time. Pushing Thor out of his way, he seized Mjollnir's handle and pulled. But it wouldn't budge. Straining his arms and screwing up his eyes in concentration, the Cobra pulled again, trying in vain to lift the hammer.

"None may lift Mjollnir but the worthy!" Thor shouted as he grabbed the Cobra by the scruff of his neck. The Cobra found himself hurtling towards the ceiling. He hit it hard and then the harsh mistress of gravity began pulling him back down, towards Thor's ready fist. The Cobra was down for the count.

"HYDRA's getting desperate if they thought this would actually work," Fury said as he cuffed the Cobra.

"Who is this HYDRA?" Thor asked.

"It's a long story," Fury said. "But I get the feeling that all isn't as it seems."

"Director Fury!" An agent had burst in. "We've detected explosive devices all over the Helicarrier!"

"There it is," Fury muttered. "The attempt on me was designed to draw attention away from the people planting the bombs."

"No," Cobra coughed. He'd regained consciousness. "I planted the bombs. Then I was supposed to kill you to ensure that you couldn't stop me, and that nobody would be looking for a bomb."

"Well it didn't work," Fury said smugly. "We found it."

"But you have no time to stop them!" The Cobra laughed. "Heil HYDRA!"

"Sir," the agent said. "The bombs are electronically linked and set to go off one after the other."

"So if we can disrupt the signal, we can save the Helicarrier," Fury finished.

"I shall do as you say," Thor said. "For the god of thunder, no task concerning electricity is impossible!"

"Wait, Thor!" Fury said. But Thor had already stamped his hammer to the ground. A raging thunderstorm swelled up. Everything on the Helicarrier went dark. "That's what I was going to warn you about!" Fury shouted. "That thunderstorm'll short out _all_ our electronic systems!"

"Odin's beard, I hadn't considered that," Thor said, embarrassed. Indeed, the Helicarrier shuddered as it began losing altitude. Thor flew into the air and exited the same way he'd entered.

Letting gravity do most of the work, Thor flew to the underside of the Helicarrier and pressed against it, calling upon all of his godly strength. Grunting and groaning, Thor pushed, willing the Helicarrier to rise.

Back in the control room, S.H.I.E.L.D. engineers were hard at work trying to get their systems back online.

"How's the bomb situation?" Fury asked.

"Thor's storm did manage to disable them," a technician said. "Fortunately, they relied on a signal to go off in the first place, so he saved us from exploding."

"If we can't get our systems back online, prepare for an emergency sea-landing," Fury said.

"Yes sir," the agent said.

Outside, Thor was gaining ground. His strength was beginning to be depleted, but Thor wasn't about to give up. He rose, inch by inch, willing the Helicarrier to keep aloft. And then, Thor's grip slipped. The Helicarrier began sinking again, and Thor found himself pasted along the bottom of it. As the water drew nearer, Thor struggled to move. Finally working his arm to a position he could freely move it from, he clubbed the Helicarrier with Mjollnir, forcing himself away from it. Moving quickly, Thor summoned a gust of wind to carry himself, and intensified it to give the Helicarrier some lift.

This had the added benefit of getting the turbines of the Helicarrier to begin moving again. Within moments, the Helicarrier was practically lifting itself. As this was happening, the engineers on board finally managed to fix the electrical systems.

"Nice going, Thor," Fury said as Thor landed back inside the control room. Sure you nearly killed us all, not to mention smashed an expensive window, but you got the job done."

"I thank thee, Fury," Thor said. "I must admit, I was not anticipating fighting earthly threats. Twas my intention to shield Midgard from the evils of the other realms."

"Whatever floats your boat man," Fury said. "But I have to say, after seeing you take out a HYDRA agent like this Cobra punk, we could use you in a more direct capacity than some 'allegience' or whatever you want to call it."

"I am listening."

"S.H.I.E.L.D. has taken notice of the increased superhuman activity as of late. Once the Fantastic Four got off the ground, it kinda spiraled out of control. We'd like to get it back under control. Direct these people, like you, who are trying to do good with their exceptional talents."

"I shall have to think on it," Thor said. "My first loyalty is to Midgard itself, not a particular person like you Fury."

"Look man, after all I did to help you blend in, I think a bit of loyalty can be expected," Fury said.

"Aye, and I just saved your life," Thor said. "As I said, I will think about joining such a team. But for now, my other duties call."

"That went well," an agent said as Thor flew out of the gaping hole. "Did you really expect him to accept right now?"

Fury turned.

"No, Coulson. I didn't. But I wanted to see how he reacted to the idea. He sure seemed to like it better than Tony Stark did."

Agent Phil Coulson nodded in understanding.

"But what if he says no?"

"Then we'll just have to try someone else," Fury said grimly.

* * *

><p>The sun was going down in Rochester, Minnesota as Thor exited the hole through time and space that Mjollnir had created. He flew to the roof of the Mayo Clinic and stamped Mjollnir on the ground, this time to change back to Dr. Don Blake.<p>

He snuck in through the service staircase, and back to the floor where he and Jane primarily worked. Jane was in her office. Her eyes were shut, but she didn't seem to be asleep.

"Jane? I'm back. Thanks for covering for me," Don said, knocking as he entered. Jane's eyes opened, and a smile played across her lips.

"Oh, it was no trouble, Don," she said sleepily. "I do aim to please my favorite doctor. Then again, you were my patient once too, so I suppose there's a bit of the Florence Nightingale effect here too."

"Jane?"

"Come on, don't tell me you haven't noticed how I love you," Jane said, standing up and advancing on Thor. "I've noticed how much you care for me. Someone as strong and powerful as you, how could I not reciprocate?"

Don's mind was racing. Was this really happening, or was something wrong?

"Come away with me Don," Jane whispered as she slid up to him. "We can forget this hospital, Zabo, everything."

"Even the patients?" Don asked.

"Who cares about the patients?" Jane asked. "You're the only one who matters to me, and I am the only one who matters to you." She drew herself in tighter and moved in to kiss. She was stopped.

"I have seen enough," Don said, anger permeating his voice. "You are not Jane Foster! Come out of her Amora!"

Jane's lips pouted as Amora the Enchantress' voice came out of them.

"What's wrong, Thor? I thought you had fallen in love with her. Not that I can conceive why in all the Nine Realms of course. Homely little thing compared to me."

"I say thee Amora! Release Jane at once!"

"But then we wouldn't get to play a little game," Amora/Jane said. She snapped her fingers and in a plume of green smoke stood Skurge.

"Skurge! You dare to come back to Midgard?" Don said. "I defeated you once, I shall do so again!"

"Let's not get hasty, Thor," Amora/Jane giggled. "We must play the game first. I call it 'Sadistic Choice.' Either you surrender your hammer and return to Asgard with us, or Skurge kills Jane Foster."

"Never!" Don shouted, striking his cane. In a flash of light, came Thor, who wasted no time in throwing himself between Skurge and Amora/Jane.

"How unbearably stupid," Amora/Jane sighed as she sparked him on the back. "You forget that I'm still the Enchantress."

"I shall not harm thee woman," Thor said. "But I will stop you all the same!" Whirling his hammer, Thor plunged himself once more into Skurge's body.

"What the hell is going on here?" Calvin Zabo had walked into Jane's office.

"You must evacuate at once!" Thor shouted, struggling against the Executioner.

Zabo didn't have to be told twice. He was gone faster than the Cobra. Thor in the meantime was still fighting the Executioner, while trying to avoid the magic of the Enchantress. Skurge let forth a mighty swing of his axe. Thor planted his hands on the flat of the blade and sprang over Skurge's head just as Amora/Jane shot a particularly devastating bolt of magic his way. Skurge was hit with the full force of the spell and crumpled to the ground.

"As for you," Thor said angrily, seizing Amora/Jane by the wrist. "Come out of her!"

"Or what? You said you wouldn't hurt me!"

"I may have changed my mind," Thor said dangerously. Amora/Jane's eyes sparkled with terror, and in two seconds, Jane collapsed unconscious as Amora materialized.

"This isn't over Thor," Amora said angrily. "You will be mine!"

"ENOUGH!" The voice of Odin bellowed as the air in the office opened to the Bifrost. "Traitors, you shall be dealt with!"

"No!" Amora screamed in panic. Before Thor or Odin could stop her, she snapped her fingers and teleported herself and Skurge away.

"Cowards," Thor spat.

"We will find them, my son," Odin said reassuringly. "You have done well this day."

"Thank you father," Thor said, kneeling. "I was surprised to see that Midgard has its own dangers."

"And you met them with bravery," Odin said. "Many more like this will come your way Thor. But it is in you to be a champion and vanquish evil wherever it may stir." With those final words of encouragement, Odin was gone, leaving Thor to tend to Jane.

* * *

><p>"It's not my fault! The formula did exactly what it was supposed to do! No, it sounds like the problem was that that Thor showed up. And you know what's funny?" Calvin Zabo asked the person on the other end of the line. "He showed up in my hospital less than an hour after he defeated the Cobra. ...So do you want me to try and take him out? Are you already this interested in the so-called God of Thunder? Well personally, I am <em>very<em> interested. But I would understand if you had too many things to worry about. Yes. Understood. Hail HYDRA."

* * *

><p>"Fools! How could you fail me again?" Loki raged.<p>

"If Odin hadn't arrived when he did, I would have salvaged the day!" Amora protested.

"Perhaps," Loki conceded. "But you should have defeated Thor long before Odin arrived! But instead you had to toy with him!"

Amora and Skurge had nothing else to say.

"You had better get back into hiding on Midgard. I suspect you shall find much to occupy you there," Loki said.

"And what of you, trickster?" Amora asked.

"Well you did do one thing right," Loki said. "You gave me a brilliant idea. And I have the perfect target. The perfect person to use to bring down my miserable half-brother."

* * *

><p>Author's Notes: Why do all of Loki's scenes end so mysteriously? I can't help myself! Well I didn't cut it as close this time! Still making good on my promise! But the next two may be the most difficult, because I actually did have the beginning of this chapter a long time ago. As I said, I have absolutely nothing for the next two, but the one after that I do have a bit already. Not much else to say about this chapter off the cuff. I'm glad everyone's enjoying so far! Keep reading and reviewing!<p> 


	7. Incredible

**MisterDrBob presents: The Avengers**

Summary: And there came a day, a day unlike any other, when Earth's mightiest heroes found themselves united against a common threat. On that day, the Avengers were born — to fight foes no single hero could withstand! Through the years, their roster has prospered, changing many times, but their glory has never been denied! Heed the call, then — for now, Avengers Assemble!

Disclaimer: All characters belong to Marvel and Disney

Chapter 7: Incredible

Bruce Banner had successfully hitchhiked his way from Virginia to Wisconsin. He had little idea of where he was going, or what he was going to do. All he knew was that he had to keep moving and avoid General Ross. He trudged along the side of a remote backroad, keeping his head down and covered by a hoodie. It had taken him three weeks to get from Virginia to Wisconsin. Most of that time had been on foot, aside from some thankful reprieves where someone had been kind enough to drive him. Thankfully, he hadn't had an episode in that entire time. He wondered how far behind him Ross was. He'd taken great pains to remain anonymous in his travels, but that didn't mean the general still couldn't track him somehow. The revving of a motorcycle caught his ears. Bruce turned and was astonished to see who was riding it.

"Doc! I found you!" It was Rick Jones.

"Rick, what are you doing here?" Bruce said, panicking.

"Looking for you! I had to make sure you were safe!"

"No! You idiot! Ross could be following you!"

"Don't sweat it, Dr. Banner! I gave Ross the slip weeks ago!"

"That's what he wants you to think!" Bruce said as he retreated off the road and into the woods.

"Hey come back! My bike can't go offroad!" Rick complained.

"Good!" Bruce shouted exasperatedly. "You know, I don't remember much when big green and mean takes over, but I do remember he said repeatedly that he wanted to be left alone!"

"And you do too?" Rick asked. He'd abandoned his bike and was chasing Banner on foot. "That's really what you want, to be alone for the rest of your life?"

"Yes!" Bruce said. "Or at least until I can get rid of this thing, whichever comes first!"

"Look man, I spent a few years on my own myself," Rick said. "At the time, I thought they were the best years of my life, but pretty soon I realized they were some of the worst! A man goes crazy when he doesn't have a friend."

"I'm already crazy!" Bruce said. "I'm running from the United States Armed Forces, I think that's a pretty good indication!"

"Hey, if everyone was a little smarter I think they'd do the same thing," Rick said lightheartedly.

"That's not funny," Bruce grumbled.

"Hey don't get mad," Rick said. Bruce shot him a look, and Rick realized just how insensitive that remark had been.

"Why are you following me?" Bruce asked, getting tired of this encounter.

"Because I feel responsible for you," Rick said. "I dunno, call me crazy, but I feel like you falling into our drug store for help was probably one of the most important days of my life."

"That _is_ crazy," Bruce said. "Wait, no its not. It could very well be one of the worst days of your life."

"I don't think so!" Rick said eagerly. "I think you've got a lot of potential in that thing. Sure it's scary as hell, but who knows? Maybe the Hulk doesn't have to be all bad."

"And maybe Tony Stark'll stop making weapons," Bruce said sarcastically.

* * *

><p>Dr. Samuel Sterns studied the blood sample intently. In the three weeks since Banner had fled, Ross had not suspected that Banner had enlisted Sterns' help in continuing his work. Ross only knew that Sterns was still working on a Banner related project, presumably to try and replicate Banner's experiment. And in a sense he was, it just wasn't in the way the good general thought.<p>

"Dr. Sterns?" A voice addressed him. Sterns turned and saw the beautiful, but still pale, face of Dr. Betty Ross.

"Dr. Ross!" Sterns greeted warmly. "Good to see you up and at 'em!"

"I'm fine," Betty said. "I heard you were one of the last to see Bruce."

"Yes," Sterns said. He looked around cautiously to make sure General Ross wasn't in earshot. "He entrusted me with a blood sample. Your father thinks it's for me to study so that I can make more like him."

"But you're using it for something else?"

"I'm hoping it can heal my brain," Sterns said, gesturing to the lump in his head that was gradually becoming more visible. Betty gasped in horror.

"I'm so sorry, Dr. Sterns! I had no idea..." Sterns waved his hand.

"It's okay. If Bruce was able to stumble upon something so incredible, I think a more careful and direct application can do what he thought it would do originally."

"How do you mean more direct?" Betty asked.

"GammaKnife," Sterns said. "It was an option my own doctor had considered, but then Bruce came along. I'm thinking perhaps if we use a similar idea, but make the exposure to gamma rays more direct, by taking the cobalt out of it for instance, it may be more effective in my case."

"That could work," Betty conceded. "But it sounds pretty dangerous considering how safe GammaKnife usually is."

"I don't have time for safe, Dr. Ross," Sterns said. "I can practically feel this _parasite_ taking my intelligence."

"Well you do what you think will work," Betty said. "But I'm not officially involved in this. I'm here to see my dad."

"Well here I am," General Thunderbolt Ross said as he walked up to the two scientists.

"Have you heard any news about Bruce?" Betty asked.

"We think someone sighted him in Ohio, but we're not sure," the general said. "He could be halfway to the West Coast for all we know."

"Dad, what are you going to do to him once you find him?"

"I'm going to make him finish what he started," Ross said. "That man owes me a success."

"Sir!" Major Glenn Talbot had entered the room. "We have a confirmed sighting in Wisconsin! A trucker recognized him from one of the flyers we put out."

"Excellent!" Ross said. "Any idea where he's heading?"

"None sir, and to be honest, I don't think he does either."

"Good, we'll use that to our advantage. He's running away from us, so we control his direction. Get a task force from the 32nd to chase him back in our direction."

"Dad no!" Betty protested. "If he changes, they won't stand a chance against him!"

"I wouldn't bet on it," Ross said. "I don't care how strong the Hulk is, there is no way a single being can overcome the U.S. Army."

* * *

><p>"RAAAAAAAAAAARGH!" The Hulk slammed two National Guard soldiers together and turned his attention to another one firing a machine gun at him. Rick Jones was a stone's throw away, trying not to get shot at while keeping the Hulk in his sight.<p>

The Hulk plowed through more of the soldiers, set on continuing his path west.

"Hulk! Wait up!" Rick called as he chased after. But he wasn't alone, the Wisconsin National Guard wasn't done yet. More soldiers were keeping at it, shooting, throwing grenades, doing anything they could to turn the Hulk around.

"This isn't working!" One of the privates shouted to his commander.

"You have any better ideas?" He barked.

"Well, maybe if we stop trying to chase him and have _him_ chase _us_..."

"That's got to be the dumbest, and yet most brilliant thing I've ever heard," the commander said shaking his head. "It's worth a shot!"

* * *

><p>The light of the moon filled the laboratory. Samuel Sterns was alone. Not that he minded, this experiment was better done under a veil of secrecy. He had procured a GammaKnife radiosurgery machine, and went to work setting it up to his own specifications, leaving the slots where radioactive cobalt was normally placed blank. Typically in surgeries like these, a helmet was surgically attached to the skull. Sterns had forgone that as well, merely externally attaching the helmet through which the gamma rays would be directed towards the tumor.<p>

"Voice activation online," A computer droned. Sterns strapped himself into the machine and took a deep breath.

"Begin gamma radiation emission," he said stoically. Green light shot out of the aperture of the machine, and directed by the helmet, hit Sterns on the head at the point where his tumor was.

Sterns resisted the urge to cry out in pain. This procedure was anything but pleasant. He was suddenly very aware of every cell in his brain, and doubly so of the tumor. And suddenly, the feeling was gone. Sterns sighed in relief as the treatment ended. He'd done it, he knew it!

"Unlock restraints," Sterns said. The machines complied and Sterns unstrapped himself of the helmet. Feeling woozy, Sterns stumbled towards a mirror.

Sterns had been wrong. The procedure hadn't eliminated the tumor, it had made his brain one with the tumor. Sterns' cranium was visibly enlarged. The veins carrying blood to the now massive tumor were visible, and a distinctly green color.

"Well isn't that curious?" Sterns said, feeling strangely detached. He laughed. He had been doubly wrong. He had been successful! He'd turned a tumor into a functioning part of his brain, and it had restored what it had taken from him, and given him so much more. Sterns felt smarter, more capable than ever before. Smart enough to realize that Banner was a fool for hoping to _cure_ himself (a misuse of the word cure if there ever was one) of being a physical god. Things had changed, and Sterns knew exactly what sort of life he was going to lead from now on.

* * *

><p>Bruce sighed as he got up from yet another night of not knowing what had happened while he was the Hulk. He did know one thing: Ross knew where he was and what direction he was going in. There was only one thing for it: to head the opposite direction. But he needed a destination. Bruce thought as he footed it across a road, hoping to get lucky again and find someone who'd be kind enough to lend him clothes. Where would Ross have trouble finding him no matter what? Bruce smiled as the thought came to him. The greatest city in the world: New York City.<p>

* * *

><p>Author's Notes: Missed it by that much! Ah well, it's not like anyone reads these for a few hours anyway. And this one's a little shorter because I didn't intend for much to happen in this chapter in the first place, and I'm still not very experienced at actually writing Hulk. Look up GammaKnife. I'm sure I messed up tons of details, but I thought it sounded cool and like it could conceivably play into the Leaders' origins. Here's hoping the next chapter comes easier!<p> 


	8. Astonishing

**MisterDrBob presents: The Avengers**

Summary: And there came a day, a day unlike any other, when Earth's mightiest heroes found themselves united against a common threat. On that day, the Avengers were born — to fight foes no single hero could withstand! Through the years, their roster has prospered, changing many times, but their glory has never been denied! Heed the call, then — for now, Avengers Assemble!

Disclaimer: All characters belong to Marvel and Disney

Chapter 8: Astonishing

The murder of Vernon van Dyne was a puzzler to many. To Hank Pym and Jan van Dyne though, it was clear as day. But of course, they would never be able to prove what they knew, so the police remained in the dark.

Jan was now an orphan. Her mother had died when she was very young, leaving Vernon to raise her on his own. Of course, to Vernon van Dyne, 'on his own' meant also having the best nannies he could afford. But Jan had never found her father distant, on the contrary, though his work meant he was often busy, Vernon had always made time for his daughter.

Vernon's funeral had been a quiet affair. Mainly attended by colleagues and a few of his favorite students. It was after the funeral that Hank and Jan made preparations to embrace their new line of work.

"So, I'm thinking I need a way to fly," Jan said. They were sitting in Jan's apartment, still technically a police crime scene, at insect size. Jack the Ant waited for any signal from Hank a few inches away. "What kind of heroine who calls herself the Wasp can't fly?"

"Agreed," Hank said. "And I've had some ideas on that end."

"Ooh, and I was also thinking about weapons!" Jan said excitedly.

"Count me out," Hank said. "The Pym Particles condense the structure of your molecules, not the mass. You could still pack a punch at insect size."

"Still!" Jan said. "A Wasp needs her stings!"

"I'll see what I can do," Hank laughed tiredly.

He'd been studying Pym Particles nearly non-stop, trying to discern more about them and how they worked, and whether the bonding to his and Janet's bloodstream was permanent. So far, it looked that way. Hank didn't quite know how to feel about that. On the one hand, his powers hadn't done him any real harm, and in fact had saved his life. But on the other hand, there was no way he was cut out for this superhero stuff. He was a scientist! A researcher! A student! This was not where he'd been hoping his life would take him.

"You are going to love the costumes I've designed!" Jan gushed.

"Costumes?" Hank said, doing a double take.

"Yeah costumes!" Jan said. "What did you think we were going to fight crime in these clothes?"

"I just never thought of that," Hank said. Mentally, he slapped himself. He was dating a fashion major, of course he was going to have a costume. "On that note, I may want to apply Pym Particles to all of our clothing so that if we need to shrink in a hurry, we don't have to worry about them."

"Yeah, sure, we'll worry about that later," Jan said waving her hand. "Just take a look!" She shoved her sketchbook into Hank's face.

Hank's Ant-Man costume was simple, but bold. It featured gloves, boots, and the stereotypical "outer-undies" of one color, and a body of another color, broken by a black circle in the chest with thick black lines shooting off from it, two towards the top, and one from the bottom, giving the impression of an ant.

"It's nice!" Hank said. "I'm not sure what I was expecting, but I'm sure it'll look neat!"

"I'm thinking blue for the boots and gloves, and red for the body," Jan said. "Or maybe black for the boots and gloves..."

"It doesn't matter to me," Hank said. "Can I see yours?"

"No!" Jan said. "It's not done! It'd ruin my mojo!"

"Jan, knowing you, you'll never be done," Hank said. "You'll keep designing new ones for yourself if I know you."

"Guilty," Jan giggled. "Okay, here's what I'm thinking."

She flipped the page over and showed Hank her preliminary Wasp designs. The costume looked to be mostly black, with a series of yellow 'v' shapes going up to a larger yellow 'w' shape that formed the neckline. Jan had also included a mask, with three or four ideas hastily sketched out on the page. One was circled: a face mask that still showed off her hair, and had large eyepieces reminiscent of a wasp's compact eyes.

"I'm just not sure it's really me, you know?" Jan asked. "Maybe I should go with something red and blue to match you. But then I wouldn't look like much of a Wasp. Oh or there's-"

"I'm gonna cut you off and say that this would look spectacular on you," Hank said. "Do Batman and Robin match? No, so why should we?"

"Batman's fictional," Jan muttered.

"Just go with this for now Jan," Hank said. "You'll look great no matter what you wear, so don't worry about it!"

"You're sweet," Jan said, kissing Hank on the cheek. "I'm going to get to work on these."

She grew to normal size and retreated to her bedroom where she kept all kinds of material. Hank continued going over his notes, wondering what Starr was up to now. He had to have known he'd failed to kill him, but did he suspect what the particles had done to him and Jan?

* * *

><p>The Consulate-General was in a tizzy. Sir Nathan Garrett was visiting the states for a gala for the Harvard Museum of Natural History. Garrett would be donating a family relic to the Museum, and the gala would commemorate the exhibit's opening.<p>

Garrett was currently very hungover and trying to sober up in time for the big evening. He winced as a sharp knock came at his door.

"Bugger off!" He moaned. The knocking resumed even louder. "Bloody..." Garrett moaned, not even having energy to finish the curse.

He got up and shuffled over to the door.

"What do you want?" He barked, voice still kind of slurred. Two young men stood before him. One had thin brown hair on top of a somewhat pointy head, the other had thicker black hair and looked fairly intimidating.

"Sir Garrett?" The one with the egg-shaped head said. "Allow me to introduce myself. I am Elias Starr, and this is my...associate Dave Cannon."

"So what'dyou want? And how'd you get in 'ere anyway?" Garrett asked.

"We simply wanted to ask you some questions about the relic you'll be donating," Starr said innocently.

"The Ebony Blade? There's nothing special about it, just a bunch of wooly legends."

"They say that only those of your line can use it," Starr said. Garrett laughed.

"Look, I've touched it thousands of times, and it's done nothing special. Hell, a friend of mine has picked it up just fine."

"You misunderstand, I believe that the sword's full potential can only be used by you. They say that that sword can kill in one strike if wielded by a member of your family."

"Come on, you really don't believe that, do you?" Garrett asked.

"He's got a point," Cannon said. "What makes you so sure about this?"

"I have my reasons," Starr said.

"If this little 'interview' is done," Garrett started.

"Oh but it isn't," Starr said, smiling wickedly. "Sir Garrett, you will use the Ebony Blade to commit a murder for me at the gala."

Garrett laughed. This had to be some kind of a joke! He stopped laughing as he realized that Starr was completely serious.

"Or what?" He challenged. Starr snapped his fingers.

"Mr. Cannon, show him why they call you 'Whirlwind.'"

Garrett's eyes were filled with terror as Cannon's lower body began spinning at intense speeds, riling up a breeze in the stuffy room. Papers went flying, and a heavy wooden table was knocked over.

"That's just a sample of what Whirlwind can do," Starr said. "He's already killed once this week, it would be a pity for him to do so again."

Garrett's shoulders slumped.

"I'll do whatever you ask," he said weakly.

"Excellent," Starr said. "Now if you would be so kind as to prepare that armor you were planning on donating as well, I do believe that only the Black Knight can wield the Ebony Blade.

* * *

><p>"We were invited to the Harvard Museum of Natural History Gala?" Hank said curiously. Two invitations were laying on Jan's desk, clearly addressed to Mr. Hank Pym and Ms. Janet van Dyne.<p>

"Isn't it exciting?" Jan said ecstatically. "Sir Nathan Garrett is going to be there! He's like, England's most eligible bachelor!"

"And you're Boston's most ineligible bachelorette," Hank said.

"Still!" Jan said, secretly happy she'd made Hank jealous.

"Jan, why would we be invited? I go to MIT, not Harvard, and you go to Emerson," Hank pointed out.

"You're seriously going to turn these down?" Jan asked. "It's probably through some friend of my dad's!"

"I didn't say I was turning them down," Hank said. "I'm just saying I hope you have our costumes ready."

Jan understood what Hank was saying.

"You think Starr's behind it?"

"It's definitely a possibility. So we need to be ready."

"Ok, so have you come up with something I can use for offense?"

"Glad you asked!" Hank said. "Check these out." He presented Jan with a pair of yellow gloves. "These gloves will gather and enhance your bioelectricity, allowing you to shoot it in a pulse. I've tried them, and trust me, they sting alright."

"Cool!" Jan said as she tried them on. "And they go with my costume too! Way to go above and beyond!"

"You ain't seen nothing yet," Hank said. "I may have figured out a way to get you to fly."

"Shut up!" Jan squealed in excitement. "How?"

"With these!" Hank said, holding up a tray. On it were two tiny pieces of yellowish plastic. "These celluloid panels will be attached to your back. They'll connect to both the muscle tissue and a nerve. Since they aren't exposed to Pym Particles, they won't change size as you do. So when you shrink, you'll find yourself with full-sized (relatively speaking) wings!"

"You really outdid yourself, Hank!" Jan said examining the wings. Hank had paid close attention to the aesthetics of this whole superhero business and had even modeled the wings after a real wasp's. "When can we get them in?"

"That's the tricky part," Hank admitted. "It's kind of a surgery, so we'll have to sneak into the nursing building at Emerson."

"Tonight then," Jan said determinedly.

* * *

><p>Nathan Garrett looked out the window of his room at the Consulate-General. What had he gotten himself into now? Who was this little egghead and his mutant friend to barge in and order him to murder some kid he didn't even know? Garrett wasn't about to back out though.<p>

"Better him than me," he told himself, shaking all over. In twenty minutes, he would give a speech dedicating the exhibit. Ten minutes after the speech, Starr would have shut down security, and Garrett would steal the Black Knight's armor and the Ebony Sword. Then Starr would direct him to this Hank Pym guy, and Garrett's life was safe.

* * *

><p>"Ready?" Hank asked Jan. She was looking stunning in a sheer black dress, and she'd done her short hair in an updo for the occasion.<p>

"Ready if you are, Ant-Man," she teased. Hank had found himself stuffed into a tuxedo against his will. If he recalled correctly, Jan's words had been "You do not wear a sport's coat to a gala, you wear a tux! Wearing a sport's coat would be like me going in a bikini!"

"Let's flag a cab then," Hank said as they stepped out. Jack sat on Hank's shoulder, much to Jan's chagrin. Her newly finished Wasp costume was stuffed into her purse, much to _Hank's_ chagrin, as he was wearing his Ant-Man costume under his tux, and had shrunken down his helmet and put it in his pocket.

The Harvard Natural History Museum wasn't terribly far from where Jan lived. It was a beautiful spring night, warm for the season. If Hank hadn't been worried that the evening was designed to kill them, he would have been looking forward to some romance with Jan.

They arrived at the gala in the middle of Sir Nathan Garrett's speech dedicating the exhibit.

"That's not the weirdest story connected to this thing!" Garrett laughed. "This suit of armor and the Ebony Blade has been in my family since at earliest the 900s. I can think of no better place for it than this fine museum!" The crowd applauded as Garrett cut a ribbon and raised a glass of champagne.

"Glad to see you could make it, Pym," Starr whispered behind Hank. Hank jumped in surprise. "I'm not sure how you survived that night, but I assure you, that'll be fixed tonight."

"I don't think so, Starr," Hank said, turning to face his nemesis. "I'm going to find proof that you and your thug killed Jan's father."

"Watch your mouth," Dave Cannon, previously unnoticed by Hank, said. "I might have a mind ta tear you apart myself."

"You'll have to go through me first," Jan said angrily.

"Oh I plan to," Cannon said, fixing his eyes on Jan's endowments.

"We'll settle this later, pig," Jan said in disgust. "Come on Hank, let's dance!"

"The only dance you'll be doing is a waltz with death," Starr said. He moved his hand ever so slightly to briefly show that he had a gun hidden in his suit coat. "I don't think I need to point out that Mr. Cannon here is even more dangerous than what I'm packing," Starr said. "He is a mutant with the ability to become a human Whirlwind after all. Now, if you'll follow us..." He and Cannon turned Jan and Hank around and began marching them towards the exhibit hall.

"Not yet," Hank mouthed to Jan. He could tell she was about to shrink down. There were too many people, and he didn't want Starr to know that they had powers until it was absolutely necessary.

The exhibit hall was not empty. In it stood a man clad in the black armor that had just been donated to the museum and wielding the fabled Ebony Blade.

"Sir Nathan," Starr greeted. "Allow me to introduce you to my old partner, Henry Pym. And his beautiful date, Ms. Janet van Dyne."

Nathan Garrett made no reply. He seemed scared, Hank thought.

"Well get on with it!" Cannon said impatiently. "Run him through! And then let me have the little firecracker over here!"

"NOW!" Hank shouted. He took his helmet out of his pocket, shrunk down to ant-size, and rushed to find it. He got it on as Starr and Cannon were shouting at Garrett to find him.

"He must have gained the ability to shrink at will!" Starr said furiously. "He and that little tart could be anywhere now! FIND HIM AND KILL HIM!"

"Jack!" Ant-Man called through his helmet. "Get airborne so I can assess the situation!" Jack swooped down and let Hank board him so he could carry out the command.

"Jan? Jan where are you?"

"I didn't think this through well," Jan said embarrassed.

"Oh God," Hank sighed when he realized what was wrong. Jan was hiding in her purse, naked. "This is why I told you to wear the costume underneath!" Hank said.

"How could I do that in that dress?" Jan said defensively. "You have some more Pym Particles on you, don't you?"

"Yes, and I can shrink the costume down," Hank said. "But it won't be precise. You'll have to match its size and then get to your preferred size."

Starr, Cannon, and Garrett were still looking around the exhibit for the two heroes. Hank moved quickly, hoping he could get Jan decent before they were spotted. The costume shrunk down rapidly, stopping at just the right size.

"Now isn't that nice?" Jan said, sticking her tongue out at Hank.

"You got lucky," Hank grumbled.

"Yeah yeah, now turn around and give me some privacy!" Jan said. Hank rolled his eyes and did as she asked, glad that at least Jan had had the sense to make her costume backless in order to accommodate her wings. "Ok! I'm ready for action! Look out world, here comes the Astonishing Ant-Man and the Wondrous Wasp!"

"You are enjoying this way too much," Hank said as he followed Jan into the air on Jack.

"Oh lighten up and have some fun!" Jan said. "I'm gonna zap that Black Knight guy right in the face!"

The Wasp zoomed up to Sir Garrett, who was still looking around for them, and yelped in pain as Jan sent a blast of bioelectricity at him. This was followed up by an invisible assailant tackling him to the ground.

"Pym you coward, show yourself!" Starr shouted. Feeling a little showy, Pym obliged and hopped off Jack as he returned to human height.

"Hello Starr," Pym said cordially. "You were probably wondering how I survived that attempt on my life, weren't you? Funny thing about these particles is that they have a tendency to bond to a human's bloodstream, letting them change sizes at will."

Starr ground his teeth. He should have known. But then something caught his eye.

"That's-!"

"Our helmet, yes," Hank said. "I finished it without your help, and it works just fine. Let me demonstrate."

"I don't need a demonstration!" Whirlwind, Black Knight, take him down!

"Hey I got his name right!" Jan said as she appeared. "And in case you were wondering, he's Ant-Man, and I'm the Wasp!"

Starr suddenly felt an unpleasant sensation all over his legs. Ants. Hundreds of them. Pym was commanding them to swarm him!

"Cannon! Get rid of these pests!" Starr shouted. But it was no use, Cannon was already being swarmed himself. But the Black Knight was protected by his armor.

"I've got no personal grudge against you," the Black Knight said. "But it's my life or yours, and I'm gonna defend mine to the death!" He raised the Ebony Blade and rushed at Ant-Man, only to be frustrated as he shrunk out of sight. Looking around for him again, the Black Knight suddenly buckled under an invisible punch. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Ant-Man, following through on the punch in the middle of what had to be a fantastic jump at his size.

The Black Knight didn't have time to ponder his enemy's powers however, as his female partner was assaulting him with more of her stings. He swung his sword back and forth, trying to get a hit on her, but missing miserably.

"Wow," Wasp said in amazement. "I'm pretty new to this whole flying thing, and you still can't hit me?" This made the Black Knight angrier and he began swatting at her instead of swinging his sword.

"I'm sure that would work well if my girlfriend had the brain of an actual Wasp," Ant-Man said, hovering in front of the Black Knight on a flying ant. "Give it up, Sir Garrett. It's over. You don't need to be afraid of Starr."

"No, he needs to be afraid of me!" Whirlwind had shaken off his swarm of ants, and was still whirling in place. "Time to end this!" He rushed forward in a terrible cyclone, only to be taken out by a square shot to the forehead by one of the Wasp's stings.

"Nice shooting!" Ant-Man praised.

The police had been called in response to the commotion.

"Gentlemen," Ant-Man said as he and Wasp resumed their normal sizes. "I'm Ant-Man, and this is my partner, the Wasp. These men have attacked us, stolen museum exhibits, and I believe the ones not in armor were involved with the murder of Vernon van Dyne."

"The ones on the ground? As in plural?" One of the officers asked.

"What do you-? He's gone!" Ant-Man groaned. Starr had fled the scene, leaving Whirlwind and the Black Knight behind.

"We'll catch him if you'll answer some questions," the officer said.

"Sorry," Ant-Man said, "We have places to be. But if you need us to testify in court, just make a public announcement."

"Or better yet, get Ant-Man and the Wasp trending on Twitter!" Wasp said.

And with those words, Ant-Man and the Wasp shrunk to the size of insects and flew into the night away from their first mission as heroes.

* * *

><p>Author's Notes: Another late one, sorry! But hey, at least the next one won't be, because in less than 24 hours, I'll be at the midnight showing of <em>The Avengers<em>! JOY! :D Not much to say about this chapter, just that I've already pretty much used any good Ant-Man villains out there (with one MAJOR exception that is coming later). But I have some interesting plans for all three of these guys, so don't you worry!


	9. A Day Unlike Any Other

**MisterDrBob presents: The Avengers**

Summary: And there came a day, a day unlike any other, when Earth's mightiest heroes found themselves united against a common threat. On that day, the Avengers were born — to fight foes no single hero could withstand! Through the years, their roster has prospered, changing many times, but their glory has never been denied! Heed the call, then — for now, Avengers Assemble!

Disclaimer: All characters belong to Marvel and Disney

Chapter 9: A Day Unlike Any Other

_The LORD is a God who avenges. O God who avenges, shine forth_

_- Psalm 94_

"Tony, you really need to pay attention to this! The Stark Expo needs some direction," Pepper Potts said exasperatedly.

"The Expo runs itself!" Tony protested. "I need to keep working with Vanko. We are this close to making the arc reactor efficient enough that I wouldn't have to worry about being charged up before a mission!"

"That's great Tony, but you still have responsibilities to the company," Pepper said. "You need to make at least one appearance at the Expo. Just once this week, and that's all I'll ask you to do for it."

Tony sighed. He really did not want to deal with the Expo right now.

"What do you suggest?"

"We've extended invitations to some very bright young people," Pepper said. "High school and college level. Just go there, look at what they have, and give them some words of encouragement."

"Sure, why not?" Tony said. "Sounds easy enough. When do I go?"

"Tomorrow. I've booked you a flight already."

"I can fly, what's the point of flying on a plane?"

"Tony, you're going as Tony, not Iron Man," Pepper said. "People need to see you flying in a plane like everyone else if you don't want them getting any ideas about your bodyguard."

"So why not my own plane? I've got like three of those," Tony said.

"Public image," Pepper said. "I'd explain it better, but then I'd be your publicist, and that's one thing I said I'd never do."

"Says the woman who convinced me to paint my armor gold," Tony said playfully. "Speaking of which, I realized what it was missing when I was fighting Vanko. Red. Lots of it. Red would make it like 20% cooler."

"After the Expo appearance," Pepper promised. "I'll help you with that one too."

"You know, I'm thinking another upgrade is in order," Tony said. "We'll do it for that one. The distinguishing feature of Iron Man Mk III: Red."

* * *

><p>Bruce Banner raised his eyes to take in the view. The New York skyline was a familiar comfort to him. It had been years since he'd been there. He was with Betty then. Back when it seemed like everything they did was fun. Before the nightmare had begun. He wondered what he'd do now that he was here. He supposed he could drop in on his old friend Reed Richards and see if he could help, but from what Bruce had gathered, Reed was busy enough these days.<p>

Why had he chosen to come here? Bruce liked New York and all, but why had he picked this destination? He'd thought that Ross would never find him here, but that would be true in Boston, or Philadelphia, or even Chicago. So why had Bruce taken a month to change direction and go to New York City?

_"Don't worry about why you came here, Bruce,"_ a small voice in his head said. _"You're safe now."_

* * *

><p>"Are we all ready to go?" Hank Pym asked Jan van Dyne.<p>

"I think so," Jan said as she went over her luggage for what felt like the fiftieth time.

"Considering how much shopping you plan on doing, couldn't you pack a little lighter?" Hank said.

"Listen," Jan said, "Don't get between a girl and her art. Especially if it's fashion."

"My point is, we're only going to be in New York for a few days," Hank said. "If you're going shopping, why bring so much?"

"Oh Hank," Jan said lightly. "That's just one of those things you'll never understand."

"I just hope we don't run into any trouble there," Hank said. "After what happened with Starr and the Black Knight, I'd rather lay low for a while."

"Speak for yourself," Jan said. "I can't wait to take down another baddie! Maybe that Doctor Octopus guy'll break out while we're there!"

"Well we won't get a chance to steal Spider-Man's thunder if we don't get going!" Hank said impatiently. "Let's go!"

The airport was busy as always. Hank started sweating a bit as they approached security. Ostensibly, he was going to the Stark Expo to show off his theories on Pym Particles, not the helmet. But just in case there was trouble, he'd shrunken down a carrying case and had directed Jack to sneak it around. He was worried that he wouldn't be able to find his ant friend, or worse that someone would step on him and the helmet.

He needn't have worried. As soon as Hank and Jan stepped through the metal detectors, Hank caught sight of Jack hovering in front of him. Hank caught him and the case and careful not to squish them, but them safely in his pocket.

The flight to New York from Boston was predictable short and uneventful. It was longer and more frustrating to get through JFK, something Hank had never looked forward to. Two hours later, Hank and Jan finally made their way into the streets of New York City, where Jan was quick to hail a cab. The hotel the two were staying at was within walking distance from the exhibition hall that this particular part of the Stark Expo was taking place in. Tomorrow, Hank would have a chance to meet the famous Tony Stark and show him what he'd discovered. But now was a time to sleep.

* * *

><p>Tony Stark hated flying publicly. Every single eye on the plane was on him, the flight attendants weren't even cute, and of course he would get stuck next to the little old lady who wouldn't shut up about how her son looked <em>just<em> like him.

Tony rushed off the plane as soon as it landed, not even bothering to get his luggage, save his carry-on briefcase which he'd convinced security contained equipment vital to a new defense system. In reality of course, it contained his armor. There was no way he was going anywhere without it, least of all New York. Thankfully for Tony, someone from the company was waiting for him, holding a sign with the name STARK on it.

"You have no idea how glad I am to see you," Tony sighed as he followed his employee.

"How did you ever get talked into flying business class?" The employee asked.

"Ms. Potts," Tony said, discovering newfound hatred of the woman associated with that name. "Said it would be good for the company's public image."

The employee stifled a laugh. Tony was thankful. He wasn't in the mood to be laughed at.

"Will you be going straight to the hotel sir?" the employee asked. One thing was for sure, good as this guy was, he was no Happy Hogan.

"Are you nuts?" Tony asked. "This is New York! Where's the nearest club?"

"It's only 4:00 p.m. sir," the employee said apologetically.

"Not in London dear boy," Tony said in a faux British accent.

* * *

><p>Hank Pym waited anxiously at his table at the Expo. Roughly thirty other kids his age were seated at similar tables with their own research assembled on it. Most had a sort of diorama to go with it, but Hank and a few others didn't.<p>

Jan was sitting at the table with Hank, completely bored. Hank sympathized, but at least he had stuff to do such as going over his notes and preparing what he'd say to Tony Stark, as well as fending off nerds who thought Jan was just his assistant rather than his girlfriend. But the worst part of it was that Tony Stark should have been there fifteen minutes ago.

"Sorry I'm late!" came a slurring voice. Tony Stark staggered in, sunglasses barely disguising the fact that he was hung over. "I got stuck doing a thing. Now let's do science so hard something breaks!"

A few of the hopefuls laughed, thinking Stark was just joking around. Tony's eyes snapped up.

"Okay, if you brought a _diorama_, get out of here. Right now. I'm not joking! Come on, pack it up, this isn't middle school."

Over half of the young scientists in the room packed up, some grumbling, and more than one openly crying. Hank was too terrified to know whether to feel angry at Stark's callousness, or glad that he was still in the running.

Stark was going over who was left. Most he glanced over without much interest, but a few he took a few minutes to talk with the person at the table to see what sort of applications their theories and discoveries held.

"Look," he said to one. "I know that for a long time I was a weapons dealer, but I'm looking for something that's a bit more innovative in general. We don't need to reinvent the wheel here, just the circle."

Almost instantly after he said this, Hank found himself staring up at Stark.

"Impress me," Tony said. Hank didn't know whether that was supposed to be encouraging or threatening.

"I-I've found that a set of s-subatomic particles have great potential," Hank stammered. "They seem to have the ability to condense the molecular structure of an atom without losing any of the mass."

"A shrink ray," Tony paraphrased.

"Not a ray, a set of particles, which can be synthesized into a chemical," Hank said, offering his notes. Tony flipped through them. Hank could see the expression on his face going from bored to vaguely interested to definitely interested.

"How did you come across them?" He asked.

"By chance really," Hank said. "Divine providence, whatever you want to call it. I just found that some materials I set near them would tend to vanish."

"Do the subjects stabilize?"

"Not naturally," Hank said. "I found that adding another set of particles allowed them to stabilize at roughly a thousandth of their original size. I have no way to test this theory yet, but I hypothesize that the subjects that continued to shrink entered a space between atoms!"

"This is interesting stuff...kid," Tony said, awkwardly realizing he didn't know anyone's name.

"Hank Pym," Hank introduced himself.

"Hank," Tony said. "This looks like it could work. Have you tested it on organic materials?"

"You could say that," Hank said. "But I don't want to take any more of your time than necessary."

"I have all the time in the world," Tony said. He turned to the rest of the people in the exhibition hall. "Thanks for coming everyone, I have some other things to do. Some of you have had some really great ideas, so if you leave your name and email address at the entrance, I'll be sure to have my people hook you up."

"You don't have to do that," Hank said, face turning red.

"When do I ever do anything I have to?" Tony asked. "I'm doing this because you have something solid, something that won't be used to destroy. Now how would you and your girlfriend here feel about lunch?"

* * *

><p>Bruce Banner still had no idea what he was doing. He didn't have any friends in New York who weren't dealing with their own strange problems, he didn't have any money, and he was a fugitive from the U.S. Military. The voice in his head tried to put him at ease.<p>

_"You'll figure something out,"_ it said. _"You got away fine, now don't lose your head and you'll stay fine." _

But Bruce was about to discover that this wasn't true. As he passed a decrepit looking alley, Bruce found himself being pulled in by the scruff of his neck.

"Got any spare change brotha?" A rough looking black kid asked. Behind him, two other kids, one white, one of Hispanic descent, kept a watch out.

"You probably have more money than me," Bruce said.

"That supposed to be funny?" The one who'd grabbed Bruce said threateningly.

"No, it's true!" Bruce said, trying not to get stressed. "I'm not joking around."

"I don't believe it," the kid said, punching Bruce in the gut. "Now dish, or we dish, ya dig?"

"I don't know what to tell you," Bruce said. "Except that you're starting to make me angry, and that's not a good idea."

"Yes it is," the little voice in his head said. It was almost excited. "Your life is in danger. You need the Hulk now."

The thugs were cracking up.

"Man would you listen to this sorry piece of shit?" The black one howled. "Thinks he's a tough guy!"

He pulled back his fist again and punched, but screamed in pain as he hit a body that was suddenly rock hard. The other street thugs screamed in terror and ran. The black one looked up to see the shrimp he'd picked out from the street, changing, turning green and growing bigger.

_"Yes,"_ the voice in Bruce's head said._ "You'll be safe now! Hulk smash!"_

"HULK SMASH!" The Hulk repeated as he swung a fist. Fortunately for the young man, the Hulk missed. He followed his friends, screaming even louder. The Hulk followed, right into the middle of traffic.

* * *

><p><em>"Reports are coming in from New York that the urban legend known as the Hulk isn't such a legend after all. There are multiple eyewitness accounts that the Hulk is going on a rampage through New York City, seemingly unprovoked. General Thaddeus 'Thunderbolt' Ross of the United States Army had this to say..."<em>

"I have heard stories of this creature," Dr. Don Blake said. "What would you have me do, Director Fury?"

Nick Fury, Director of S.H.I.E.L.D. snapped the TV of Dr. Jane Foster's office off.

"You're one of the strongest people we know of," Fury said. "You almost carried the Helicarrier through the sky not too long ago. And if that's something you can do without too much of a problem, you may just be our only hope. We need you to go in and subdue the Hulk. Think you can do that?"

"I can certainly try," Blake said as he struck his can on the ground, assuming his true form once more: that of the Mighty Thor.

"Be careful Thor," Jane Foster said from the door to her office where she'd been making sure Director Fury and Blake weren't disturbed.

"I shall try Jane," Thor smiled. He whirled his hammer by the leather thong, opening a wormhole in the office. "I shall see thee in New York, Director Fury."

"Is he really our only hope?" Jane asked as the wormhole to New York closed behind Thor.

"Possibly," Fury said. "He's certainly the strongest. But if he can't do it, I don't know who can."

* * *

><p>Thor flew through the wormhole to find New York a disaster area. Up ahead was his foe: the Incredible Hulk. He was roaring and throwing cars with reckless abandon. People were running in droves away from the Hulk, some yelling into phones for the police, army, or loved ones. Thor continued flying until he was close to the beast.<p>

"Greetings Hulk!" he announced. "I have heard many tales of thy strength. Cease using it to frighten these people, or this day we do battle!"

"You talk too much, Goldilocks," the Hulk said contemptuously. "Hulk smash girly hammer man! HULK IS STRONGEST THERE IS!"

"So be it!" Thor shouted as he tossed Mjollnir.

The hammer hit the Hulk square in the chest, pushing him over. Mjollnir returned to Thor as the Hulk heaved himself up. Roaring in rage, the Hulk charged at Thor, who stood his ground, center of gravity low. The turn of phrase 'clash of the titans' did the impact no justice. It was god versus monster, engaged in an epic wrestling match for ground, neither yielding, yet neither gaining.

"Verily thy strength is great, mortal," Thor grunted. "But I shall win this day for the people of Midgard!" With a great push, Thor knocked the Hulk over again, and wasted no time in throwing punches at the monster's face. Hulk grunted under the blows, but was able to kick Thor in the chest, sending the thunder god flying.

"I don't think you got the message," Hulk growled. "Hulk strongest there is!" He picked the dazed Thor up and slammed him into the ground, then tossed him into the air, following with an impressive jump.

When they matched altitude, Hulk pulled his arm back, ready to punch Thor into the next dimension. Thor surprised him however and grabbed the Hulk's arm and flew higher into the air. Hulk struggled, but Thor maintained his grip on his foe.

"This fight has been a challenge, monster," Thor said. "But. It. Ends. NOW!" With a mighty shout, Thor swung Mjollnir into the Hulk's skull, sending the Hulk careening back down to the street.

* * *

><p>Hank Pym was surprised to find that he was actually enjoying this time with Tony Stark. They were eating lunch in Tony's personal suite, up near the top of Stark Tower. Hank had explained the events of the past few weeks to Tony, who was surprised as he was that the Pym Particles had such an effect on humans.<p>

"So you guys are Ant-Man and the Wasp?" Tony said in amazement. "I heard about that museum incident, but I didn't pay much attention at the time."

"That actually makes me feel better," Hank said sheepishly. "I'm not really into getting a lot of attention for that."

"So you developed the helmet yourself too, right?" Tony asked.

"No, at first I had some help from Starr," Hank reminded him. "But when we had our falling out, I finished it."

"Well Hank, I'm not usually this impressed," Tony said up-frontly. "I'd be happy to offer you a job when you graduate MIT."

"That would be fantastic!" Hank said eagerly. "We could really put my discoveries into use with your resources!"

"Have you thought about going the other way?" Tony asked. "Using the particles to increase the space in the structure of the molecule?"

"I'm not sure it would work that way," Hank said. "The way the particles work, it would almost seem as if they would borrow mass from somewhere if you were to use them to increase. But I wouldn't try it on a living organism. It could be really _really_ dangerous."

"Hey, are you guys seeing this?" Jan interrupted, pointing at the Breaking News alert. "That crazy Thor guy is fighting the Hulk, like a mile away from here!"

Tony and Hank turned to see what she was talking about. Hank's jaw dropped as he saw the destruction. Tony was listening carefully for info.

_"Analysts are still unable to determine what has caused this rampage,"_ the reporter said. _"But many are hoping that Thor will be able to put a stop to it. Others still are fearful that it won't be enough."_

"It won't be enough," Tony said. "Thor's strong, maybe even strong enough to defeat the Hulk, but there are too many people in harm's way for this to end well."

"Now would be a good time to call your bodyguard, don't you think?" Hank asked.

"My bodyguard?" Tony said confusedly.

"Iron Man," Hank said. Had Tony Stark forgotten about his bodyguard?

"Oh him!" Tony said. "Uh, yeah...Iron Man's not really my bodyguard."

"He's not?" Jan said, equally confused.

"No, I am Iron Man," Tony said.

"This is great!" Hank said. "We've got three superheroes right here, we can help! We can try and put people out of harm's way while Thor and the Hulk duke it out!"

"Sounds like a plan," Tony said. He reached under the table and took out his briefcase.

Tony opened the briefcase to reveal the small, neatly stacked components of the Mk II armor. Tony took his outer shirt off, revealing the glowing arc reactor in his chest. He put the chestplate of the armor on, which hummed to life when connected to the arc reactor. Tony quickly assembled the rest of his armor, spreading from the chest towards his extremities, while Hank revealed his Ant-Man costume underneath his clothes, and Jan ran off to the bathroom to change into hers.

"I keep telling her she needs to wear it under her clothes!" Hank said exasperatedly as he fastened his helmet.

"Women," Tony agreed as he put his own helmet on.

"I heard that!" Jan said indignantly as she returned. "This mask is pissing me off, I'm losing it."

"So much for secret identity," Hank said.

"You know, the secret identity thing gets old really quickly," Jan said. "I mean hey, not having one works for the Fantastic Four, right?"

"Let's debate this later," Iron Man said. "Let's get to the roof and fly to the battle site." The three heroes ran towards the door, ready for anything.

* * *

><p>Thor circled down after the Hulk. He was sure that he'd at least knocked the monster out. To his dismay, he was wrong.<p>

"Hulk can't be hurt!" Hulk raged. "Hulk tear Goldilocks apart!"

"My name is Thor Odinson!" Thor bellowed. "You would do well to learn it monster, for it will be the last name you learn in the land of the living!"

"Okay, I know you guys are like super strong and stuff, but could you possibly keep it contained?" A female voice asked Thor. Thor looked around bewildered, glad that he'd just thrown Mjollnir to occupy the Hulk.

"What manner of woman are you?" Thor asked as he beheld a woman no bigger than his thumb hovering in front of him.

"I'm the Wasp, but my friends call me Jan!" She said cheerfully. "And the guy on the flying ant is Ant-Man." Thor looked to his left as a man appeared out of nowhere.

"We're here to help the people around here," he said. "Your fight is causing a lot of needless collateral damage."

"I cannot help my enemy's strength," Thor said. "And I must return to battle my friends. But I wish you good fortune in your efforts to aid the people of this city! HUZZAH!"

"Wow, he's crazier than I thought," Iron Man said as he landed. Thor was rushing back towards the Hulk, who was trying to lift Mjollnir from the ground.

"NONE MAY TOUCH THE HAMMER OF THE THUNDER GOD!" Thor raged as he reclaimed his weapon.

"The people in this area have cleared out," Ant-Man observed. "We're a tad late."

"We can still warn the others," Iron Man said. "Wasp, do you have some sort of communicator that you can talk to Ant-Man with?"

"He hasn't gotten around to it yet," Wasp said.

"Okay, here's what we'll do. Ant-Man, I'll stick close to Tweedledee and Tweedledum and tell you what direction they're moving in by having my systems tune in to the frequency your helmet uses. You go on ahead and warn the neighborhoods in that direction that they need to clear out. Got it?"

"Got it," Ant-Man repeated as he flew away on Jack. But before he could get too far, something odd happened.

"There is something...familiar about you, Hulk," Thor said. "You are...a jotunn? No...no! It cannot be!"

Suddenly, a huge clap of thunder resounded as lightning struck. Along with it came a scream of rage from Thor.

_**"LOKI!"**_

None of the other heroes could hear it over the thunder, they could just see that Thor was madder than the Hulk, and suddenly, he was gone. The Hulk looked around, getting angrier now that his enemy was gone. He turned and caught sight of Iron Man, Ant-Man, and Wasp.

This was bad.

The Hulk let out a bellow and started charging towards the other three heroes.

"Get out of here kids, I'll handle this!" Iron Man shouted.

"Not on your life!" Ant-Man said. "We're sticking with you!"

Hulk roared as he leapt into the air and came crashing down where Iron Man had been a second ago. He was now hovering in the air, the repulsors in his boots holding out.

"I'm serious! You'll get squashed like...well like an ant!"

"Not if I can help it," Ant-Man said solemnly. "There's something we haven't tried yet!"

"No," Wasp said, realizing what her boyfriend was thinking. "You said it was too dangerous!"

"I have to try!" Ant-Man argued. "It's the only way we'll stand a chance without Thor."

Before anyone else could argue further, Ant-Man closed his eyes in concentration and grew back to human size.

But he didn't stop there, he kept growing until he was even taller than the Hulk.

"I did it!" Hank cheered.

"How do you feel?" Jan asked cautiously.

"So far, so good. Alright Hulk, let's see how you like Giant-Man!"

"Giant-Man?" Jan groaned. "That's seriously the best you've got?"

Hulk wasn't deterred by his enemy's new size. He leaped into the air, drawing his fist back for a mighty punch. But Giant-Man beat him to it and slammed Hulk back into the ground.

"Stay down!" Giant-Man said, Hank's voice deeper and louder in his new giant size.

"RAAAAAARGH!" Hulk screamed as he bit into one of Giant-Man's fingers. Giant-Man cried out in pain as the Hulk pushed himself out from under Giant-Man.

"I've got this," Wasp said as she flew in, shooting stings in the Hulk's face. The Hulk yelled in pain, but did not stumble. Instead, he began swatting around for the bug that had zapped him. Wasp bobbed and weaved around the raging brute's wild swings.

"Great, you've made him madder. Wonderful," Iron Man said sarcastically. "Giant-Man, take a breather and let that finger heal, I'm going in!" He shot into the air, then let his repulsors shut off and the reignited them as he dove towards the Hulk, tackling him to the ground.

"Tin Man no hurt Hulk!" Hulk shouted, throwing this third enemy off of him.

"The name's Iron Man, but good try," Iron Man said as he activated his repulsors, stopping his trajectory. "I don't know where Thor went, but we're your new playmates while he's gone."

"I have returned!" Thor's voice shouted as a rainbow descended onto the street.

Flying along it was Thor, dragging with him a very angry looking, very scared looking man wearing a gold tunic over green sleeves and leggings. Atop his head was a gold helmet, adorned by two large curved horns.

"This is the true villain of the day!" Thor said. "My evil step-brother Loki, God of Mischief!"

"Loki?" Hulk said, he held his head as his mind cleared. "Hulk remember! Loki trick Hulk! Let me at him, Thor!"

"Nay, good Hulk," Thor said. "T'would not solve anything. I have merely come to force him to confess with his own mouth his evil misdeeds!"

Loki gulped as Thor shook him.

"Admit it Loki, you sent the Executioner and Enchantress after me, and you caused the Hulk to rampage through this city, putting hundreds of people in danger!" Thor raged.

"Yes! Yes, it's true! I did it!" Loki seethed. "Now let me go!"

"Aye, mayhap I shall let the Hulk have you after all," Thor said thoughtfully. Loki's pale skin turned even whiter.

"No," he moaned. "No I take it back! Take _me_ back! Take me back to Asgard, blast it!"

"As you wish," Thor winked. "I shall make sure that Odin punishes you severely, Loki, make no mistake. But why, brother? What did I do to you to make you hate me so much?"

Loki made no answer. His sneer deepened as he once again tried to escape Thor's grasp.

"I shall return soon my friends," Thor said. "But now I must return to Asgard and see that Loki receives justice."

Thor turned and whirled his hammer, and in seconds, he was soaring along the Bifrost back to his home.

"Never thought I'd see that today," Wasp said as the Bifrost vanished.

"What a day it's been," Iron Man agreed. He looked over to see the Hulk standing there, looking confused. "Hey, no hard feelings, Hulk? We didn't know that Loki had messed with you like that."

"Hmpf," Hulk grunted. "I guess I can't blame you. I did a lot of damage today."

"Well we can't blame you either," Giant-Man said as he returned to his normal size. He stumbled in exhaustion as he stopped. "We can't undo the damage just like that, but we can make sure that you aren't blamed."

It was at this moment that the police arrived, backed up by a few tanks. The Hulk growled, ready to take on anyone else. But before anyone made a move, Iron Man stepped between them.

"The Hulk has been innocent in this mess," Iron Man said. The police officers lowered their guns, but remained cautious.

"Aye!" Thor had returned. "The Hulk was under the control of my evil step-brother, Loki." He turned to face the Hulk. "Forgive me," he said. "I should have seen earlier that you were not yourself. You fight with valor and strength Hulk. I would be proud to call you my friend."

"You know, this whole team-up thing worked pretty well," Wasp said. The police were backing up, cordoning off the area that had been damaged and pushing civilians out. "We should do it more often."

"Aye, verily!" Thor said. "You are all mighty in your own right. I would be honored to fight by the sides of any of you again!" Iron Man seemed more hesitant.

"Not too long ago, someone made a similar proposal to me," he said. "I said no. It's a political nightmare, and it's a disaster waiting to happen."

"I too was proposed to in this manner," Thor said. "By a man named Nicholas Fury."

"You know Nick Fury?" Iron Man said in amazement. "Why would you want to ally yourself with him?"

"I do not know much about Fury, it is true," Thor said. "But think of the good we could all do together."

"Thor's right," Ant-Man said. "And who says we have to do it with S.H.I.E.L.D. breathing down our necks?"

"Oh man this is really happening," Wasp said excitedly. "We should come up with an awesome name like, the Avengers or..."

"Or nothing," Ant-Man cut her off. "I really don't think any of us will be able to top that."

"I'm with Ant-Man on this," Iron Man said. "And you know what? You guys are right. You can count me in. Hulk?" All eyes turned to the Hulk. He furrowed his heavy brow in deep thought.

"None of you attacked Hulk out of hate," he said. "Hulk would rather fight with you than against you."

"Then it's settled," Iron Man said. "From this day on, we're the Avengers!"

_And there came a day unlike any other, when Earth's mightiest heroes found themselves united against a common threat. On that day, the Avengers were born — to fight foes no single hero could withstand! Through the years, their roster has prospered, changing many times, but their glory has never been denied! Heed the call, then — for now, Avengers Assemble!_

* * *

><p>Author's Notes: And here we go! I cannot even begin to describe how much I enjoyed writing this chapter. I've been waiting to write it for easily a year now. And with this chapter, we wrap up the week of updates. In about two hours, I'm going to be going to the theater to beat the crowds to see <em>The Avengers<em>. Now, some have asked if I'm going to do the same thing for the Spider-Man story. To curb anymore questions like that: no. This week has been an exception to my rule, not a new one. After the next X-Men, Fantastic Four, and Marvel Knights updates, there will be no more until the stories are complete. I don't know how long this will take. It could very well be over a year. I've been working on this series for almost two years now, and I've only just now gotten to this point! So just be prepared. Alright guys, I'm done talking. It's been a great week, and I'm glad you guys have enjoyed these new chapters! So I leave you with "Avengers Assemble!"


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